Te amo, Babe Always
by JazMitch
Summary: Steph is different. Ranger and the Merry Men notice, and try to fix it. What is wrong with the Bombshell Bounty Hunter? And will it finally make Batman go after their Someday? Please read; first FF ever!
1. Chapter 1

Te amo, Babe. Always.

RPOV

Day to day, it's little subtle things that change. It's only when you look back that you realise that everything is different.

My babe was different.

The spark was still there, no doubt, but it was as though a little part of her had changed. That part of her that made her do some of the crazy things she does is closed off. In its place is a sort of uncertainty. A hesitancy about her that she never had before. It doesn't show often, this change of hers, she hides it well. But not from me. I know her heart. I can see her in the same crystal clear way she sees me. It's this that lets me see what about her has changed.

Her confidence. Her self-esteem. Something made her question herself, made her question the way she acted and who she was. It was hurting her, and that was killing me. How to help though? Every time I asked her if she was ok, she simply flashed me a bright smile and told me she was great; the only hint of her lie was the sadness that lingered in her beautiful blue eyes.

At first, I was angry at her for lying to me, but then I realised that she had a reason for it. And so help me, I was going to find out.

"Bossman," I heard someone call out to me. Lester. The joker, who normally always had a grin on his face, was looking grimly at me. Oh, crap. "We need to see you in the conference room."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow and narrowed my eyes at him. I did not take well to being summoned. He flinched, for which I was satisfied, but then straightened up and crossed his arms in front of him.

"It's about Beautiful."

Damn him. Three words, he knew, was all he needed to get me to follow him. Inside, I saw members from my team- Tank, my SIC, Bobby, Hal, Hector, Cal, Manny, Woody, Ram, Binkie, Junior and of course, Lester. Immediately, dread balled up in my insides. What had happened to my Babe? I fought for calm, slamming what Steph called 'my blank mask' down.

"Where is she?" I asked quietly, danger lacing my tone.

"She's safe," Cal answered. They all looked nervous and this did nothing to help my panic. I turned to Tank.

"What's this about?" I asked him irritably. And just like that, the slight apprehension in my SIC and best friend's eyes vanished. Anger replaced it and I hid my surprise. Lester strode up to me. I anticipated his move before he made it; I let his arm pin me to the wall for a second before twisting my body and grabbing his arm, using his own momentum to hold him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked him in a quietly menacing voice, my eyes hard as flint.

"Protecting Beautiful like I said I would," my cousin spat. He looked me in the eye. "You telling me you care? Please."

In an instant, my hackles rose. I pressed my forearm against his throat and leaned close. "Say that one more time," I challenged him in a low snarl, red flickering around the edges of my vision.

"This one's on you, cuz," he told me evenly. "Because you don't care."

I drew my fist back, but Tank stopped me, gripping my arm. I could have easily retaliated; he, I and everyone in this room knew that; but I needed to know if there was a cause for concern for my babe. I relaxed and he did too, moving again to stand with the rest of the team, all staring me down.

"Beautiful…" Lester started, calming himself down. "She's…different now. Still the same, but it's like there's a part of her that is hurting and she tries to hide it but, well."

"So you guys noticed it too," I nodded, glad I wasn't simply over-reacting, as I sometimes tended to do where Babe was involved.

"You know?" Santos demanded. His posture stiffened and again, he made toward me. I was the calm one. I held up a hand.

"I noticed it too, I just don't know how to approach it," I clarified. Then, what they were saying hit home. "Wait, hold on, you think I'm responsible for her hurting?" I looked at them in disbelief. "You think I'm the reason she's acting differently?"

Bobby cleared his throat and Lester forced himself to take a deep breath. "We don't think that you deliberately hurt her or anything," Bobby told me. "Just, you two have an awful history of mis-communication and we think that we need to figure out what happened."

"Man, we miss Angel," Cal spoke, startling me. He so rarely displayed emotion, but then again, my babe had gotten under all these tough army men's skins and made them love her. I was hardly surprised. "She doesn't go out with us anymore."

"She's toned down with the hilarious smartass comments." Hal threw in.

"She double guesses herself," Hector added in Spanish.

"She gets subdued in a way she never was before," Bobby chimed.

"The spark in her eyes," Lester looked at me. "It aint there anymore."

I met Tank's eyes. His glare wavered as he saw the genuine concern in my eyes. He nodded slightly to let me know he wasn't going to punch me. "She's our Bomber. Our Bombshell Bounty Hunter. We need to fix this Ric," he looked me in the eye. I knew how worried he was now; he never called me by my name.

I looked around at my men and marvelled at how my babe had managed to fix these scarred men and have them react this way about her. I remember the day I realised just how much she meant to the team, and just how much we meant to her…

###FLASHBACK###

_The men and I were meeting Babe down at Pinos for lunch. We had just finished a takedown and she had hauled in her last skip for the day when she called. I was surprised that she had managed all her skips before lunch; surprised and impressed. She really was coming yards and acres with her training. When we pulled up in front of her favourite restaurant, we all saw her inside. She was waving her hands around and she looked livid. Then, I saw why._

_Morelli._

_I growled in response to the situation that met my eyes._

"_Easy, Boss," Tank put a hand on my shoulder. Standing at my shoulder, you could see the thinly veiled anger in his eyes too; as Lester, Hal, Bobby, Hector and Cal flanked me, I saw in them, too, my anger reflected, albeit scaled down a few (hundred) notches. I guess Steph meant more to the men than they let on. With my men, we walked into Pinos. We were still at the entrance, and Babe hadn't seen us yet, so we got the whole show._

"_Cupcake," Morelli struggled to modulate the frustration in his voice, and I growled again at his dumbass nickname for my babe. "You're being ridiculous. You're a screw-up at the damn job; you're a walking joke! Just get married to me and we'll…"_

"_Excuse me?" Steph cut in dangerously. I was glad she did because if that ass had said one more demeaning thing to her I would have made sure he __**couldn't**__ talk. "Get married?" she scoffed and gave him a native `Burg eye roll. "In case you didn't remember, we broke up, Joe. 6 frikn weeks ago!"_

"_Don't be ridiculous, Cupcake, you won't be able to do better than me. And it's not like anyone else is interested. Ranger's just having fun and his band of thugs is no better." His sneer raised my hackles and the men tensed. Trained well, they waited at my side though, waiting for my move. I was about to make my presence known, when Steph's icy voice stopped me._

"_What did you just say?" she asked the cop, her voice below freezing. Worse than the yelling, her voice had now become a quiet, menacing bite. "Because I __**know **__you didn't just insult Ranger and my friends in front of me."_

"_Your friends?" Morelli blustered. "They are nothing more than witless, good-for-nothing thugs and pathetic excuses for men. You can't tell me that you're actually sticking up for them, Steph? Jesus Christ, they're moronic little bast…"_

_Morelli never did finish that sentence. _

_Before I could react, Stephanie brought her knee up into his stomach and delivered an upper-cut to rival my own. As the cop staggered back, she pinned him to the wall and held her arm against his throat, positioning her knee in front of his crotch; a warning, I knew. He may have been bigger, but she had him pinned such that he couldn't make a move without hurting himself in any way. He looked at her in fury. _

"_Let's get one thing straight, Morelli," she sneered his name, her voice still a low, ice cold snarl. "One, you and I are not close, nor will we ever be, anymore. Two, Ranger and his men and a million times the guy you could ever hope to be. They are honourable. They are loyal. They are strong, and fearless and brave and funny and smart. They are everything you are not; everything you never will be. Three, if you ever say anything about any of them ever again, I will make it my mission to make your life hell personified. A single word against them, Joe, and you'll live to regret it. Stay away from me. Stay away from mine. And yes, they are mine. They're family. Are we clear, Morelli?" _

"_Crystal," he spat. I was rooted to the spot. I hadn't witnessed anything that touched my heart that much (or turned me on as much) as that did. I knew the expression on the faces of my men reflected my own. My babe let the cop go and I saw that her hands were shaking. She turned around just then and saw us. Her face coloured, a sexy red blush tinting her cheeks._

"_Uh…" she fumbled. "Hi guys," came the sheepish greeting._

_I walked to her and put my arms around her slight frame; with a soft sigh, she relaxed against my chest. _

"_Calm down, Babe," I murmured, placing a chaste kiss on top of her head. That proved to be too much for the cop and he stomped out. As he passed them, my men recovered their blank faces, getting rid of the tender expression that they reserved for my babe. At the entrance, Morelli turned around and spat,_

"_Well I hope you're having fun, Cupcake, letting the world see what a slut you really are." _

_And just like that, he dug his own grave. _

_In an instant, I was across the room. I landed a punch to the pendejo's face and felt a satisfying crunch under my fist. In the next instant, Steph was in front of me._

"_No, guys, he's not even worth it," she tried to placate. Guys…? Oh, I realised. The men had moved with me and each of them looked ready to dispose of a lousy body. To my surprise, several cops stood behind my men, all ready to join in the brawl. Babe held her arms out, spread wide. "Don't. Really. It's okay."_

"_No, it's not," Lester and I growled in unison. My men just kept scathing glances over her shoulder. Grabbing his save, the cop made tracks out of there. Cautiously, Steph put her arms around my waist, resting her fists on the small of my back and laying her head on my chest._

"_Thanks for that," she mumbled. I wound my arms around her and kissed her forehead, already calm again, now that she was here. She picked up her head and looked at everyone in turn. "All of you. Thank you." _

"_Anytime, Little Girl," Tank rumbled, ruffling her hair affectionately. It seemed that her calming down had calmed everyone else down too._

"_Yeah, Beautiful," Santos grinned at her, "we protect our own. Especially seeing as how we're "YOURS" now…" he trailed off teasingly._

"_You guys weren't supposed to hear that," she blushed and hid her face in my chest. _

"_Why not, Bomber?" Bobby asked. "That's the best thing anyone has ever done for us."_

"_Yeah, Angel," Cal chimed in. "You didn't have to stick up for us but you did."_

"_Of course I did," she picked her head up, sounding indignant. "I couldn't let Morelli get away with talking about you'll like that!" Her anger, though terror inducing as it was earlier was now just adorable. _

"_Exactly, Bombshell," Ram tapped her cheek lightly. "No one has ever stuck up for us."_

"_Thank __**you**__, little girl," Tank grinned at her. "You're ours too."_

"_Familia, mi Angelita," Hector agreed in Spanish. A look passed between them, and Hector winked at her and she smiled broadly. Hector returned the smile, surprising me. I would be willing to bet that Hector now considered my babe under his protection. Hmm…interesting. _

"_Proud of you, Babe." I murmured. She looked up at me, smiled brilliantly, and from that day? Rangeman became a family._

_###END FLASHBACK###_

We never had to say anything, but it was obvious how touching that was to all of us. We were so used to people judging us and calling us names like Morelli did. Not once did it affect us, but it was extraordinarily touching to have someone protect us. Especially this little `Burg girl who had next to no violent history. From that day, Bombshell duty, as it was dubbed, became a privilege. She had brought light into all our lives, and it was times like these when it was evident just how much my men loved her. I looked at each of them in turn, and then sat down.

"OK," I said simply. Lester was the first to speak up.

"So, what do we do?"

"What we always do," I replied. "We discuss our Intel."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Oh, snap! I forgot this in the first chapter, but here it is; all of these almost shamefully awesome characters belong to Janet Evanovich. Just playing around with them, because honestly, who wouldn't want to? Moreover, the songs mentioned in this fic (Break Your Heart and Pretending) belong to Taio Cruz and Glee, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith (Rest In Peace). Just borrowing the lyrics because they felt apt. **

###

Chapter 2

Hector POV

When Ranger suggested we go through our intel, I immediately sat down, as did everyone else. This was a problem of top priority.

Mi angelita…my little angel…was sad. I didn't know why- whether it had to do with that dumbass cop, or whether my friend and brother had something to do with it- but I didn't care. Whoever it was would face me as their jury. Nobody hurt my angelita and got away with it.

I sensed her goodness from the get-go. The moment when she first looked at me and smiled, I saw it. Instead of running scared and avoiding me because of my obvious past, she saw me, smiled and gave me a hug. I was shocked, to put it mildly. Nobody had ever just walked up to me and hugged me since I was 7 years old. The day at the diner, when she stood up for all of us, just re-affirmed my belief. She was our angel. No, she was _my _angel. She brought light to the darkness that's been in my soul.

The incident that humbled me most, the one that made her my angelita, happened a day before her confrontation with Detective Dumbass…

###FLASHBACK###

_I was driving her home after she was done at her parents. Her latest car got blown up, so I offered to drive her home. I was excited, picking her up. I had been taking some lessons from an old friend who owed me a favour; he was teaching me how to speak English. I wanted to learn, for my little angel, so that we could understand one another. She got in and hugged me, sending a brilliant smile my way._

"_Gracias Hector," she said carefully. I was pleased; she was trying to thank me in Spanish!_

"_De nada, Steph," I replied, with an almost-smile. _

"_Hector…" she trailed off, indicating she wanted to ask me something. I raised an eyebrow, silently inviting her to continue. Fleetingly, her fingers brushed the teardrop tats on my face. "Did they deserve it?"_

"_Si," I nodded. "No kill for no reason."_

"_Hector!" she squealed, and I grinned inwardly, my heart swelling as she realised I was speaking in albeit broken English. "When did you learn?"_

"_Take classes," I answered proudly, carefully. "Talk to Angelita. Understand well…still learn to talk, no?"_

"_You took them so that we could communicate?" she asked, her eyes getting bright. I nodded the affirmative. She flung her arms around me, burying her little face in my neck._

"_Oh, Hector! Gracias! That's so sweet! Thanks so much!"_

"_De nada, Steph," I repeated, embarrassed by this affection but equally pleased. She pulled away from me slowly, then reached up and with her fingers, pretended to wipe the tears away. _

"_I won't wish that I could wipe them away for you," she said softly, "because I believe you did it with good intentions. If they are ever real, though, let me wipe them away, okay?" She looked at me, her beautiful big blue eyes imploring. Imploring me to allow her to take care of me. Me! This innocent, white bread little girl from the `Burg wanted to take care of a tough former gangbanger like me. My heart, which had been stone a long time, began to feel again. It warmed. _

"_Gracias, Angelita," I gently took her hand from my face to place a kiss to her knuckles. _

"_Angelita…that means little angel, right?" She asked me with a smile._

"_Si," I nodded. "You are mi angelita. Bring light to me, though I am dark."_

"_You're not dark Hector," she protested. "You're good. You protect me. Tu eres mi hermano, Hector," she said each word carefully. (You are my brother.) My heart swelled. I was losing my badass, gangbanger card, but her words had touched my heart like none others. _

"_Tu eres mi hermana, Angelita," I replied. "Sister."_

_And with a last, brilliant, bright smile, I knew I was under her spell._

###END FLASHBACK###

Since then, I had considered her personally under my protection, and I knew that my brother did too. Ranger loved her…it was obvious in the way he almost attacked Lester. In the way he followed the order to meet us here so easily, fearing something had happened to her. In the way he was always there for her. In the way he looked at her when she wasn't looking. In the panic- yes, panic- that this hardened military man went into when she had a stalker, or her car blew up, or she was kidnapped. He was just too _atemorizar _to admit it to her. I decided to talk to him later, after we had tried to ascertain the problem. (Scared)

"Ok," Ranger looked at each of us in turn. "Who knows what?"

Bobby POV

I looked around as Rangeman asked us for our Intel. I knew, personally, what I wanted to point out. It was something I noticed a while back with our Bombshell. I waited patiently, to see if anyone would speak up before I did.

Bombshell was like a sister to some of us, a best friend to others, and the rest of them were pretty much in love with her. Not that they stood any kind of chance. The Boss and Bomber were so madly in love with each other, they hardly noticed anyone else, not that either of them would admit to the other. I swear, sometimes I think that the only two people in the world that don't know how they feel about each other, is Steph and Ranger themselves. Even the cop knows- which is probably why he's been trying so hard to get Bomber to marry him. After the disaster when Ranger told her to go back to the cop- which we all were ready to cheerfully beat his ass for- things haven't been the same with Bomber. I wondered if Ranger even knew that that was the moment when things changed for her. Maybe I noticed because I was very sensitive to changes in Steph's behaviour.

This was mostly because I had become fiercely protective of our Bombshell. Like Tank, Santos, Hector and many others here, I saw her as my little sister. I noticed the little things because, having treated Steph for injuries far too many times, I tended to watch her very carefully. Healing her and taking care of her and making her feel better had become a big part of why I was so protective of her. I hated seeing her in any sort of pain. Before I could speak up, Manny did.

"Do you guys remember that time we apprehended Alan Taylors?" he asked. A handful of us nodded. "I noticed a change from then to now."

"Go on," Ranger prompted when he stopped. I leaned forward slightly to listen.

Manny POV

When I announced that I had noticed a change, I noted how several people leaned forward in their chairs, ever so slightly. My Wifey, though she may not have known it, had touched the hearts of so many tough ex-military men, it wasn't even funny anymore. Any one of us, myself included, would take a bullet for her in a heartbeat.

Ranger looked at me expectantly. I knew how much he loved her, and it was moments like this where it was even more evident. Looking at the men around me, I recounted what happened the night of the Taylors apprehension, for the benefit of those who weren't there.

###FLASHBACK###

_As she walked into the bar, the comms burst out with all the comments. Wolf whistles, catcalls, some groans, a few whimpers and the occasional "Jesus Christ" filtered through. _

"_Hey," I protested playfully, "that's __**my**__ hot wife you'll are ogling." I grinned as Steph hid a laugh behind her hand. _

_She looked absolutely stunning in a halter neck, shimmery plum dress that hit just above her knees. It hugged every curve in just the right way, and the deep v-neck showed enough to cleavage to make us all shift our positions in discomfort, but still allowed Steph to keep her secrets to herself. The matching FMPs made her legs look miles long. When she reached up, removed the grip holding her hair in place and shook out her curls, among the renewed groans of appreciation and additional sounds, I could swear I even heard a muttered "Dios Mio" from the Man in Black himself. _

_Of course, that takedown had probably been the fastest ever in the history of Rangeman. After we had the guy in our SUV, Steph walked up to us._

"_Guys," she called, immediately drawing all our attention at once. "Why don't we hang out? The job is done, and we could all use a little fun. You guys always go straight home after distractions," she complained. _

_Unable to refuse her, we all ended up staying. Lester and Ram joined us after dropping Taylors off and collecting the body receipt. We had a few drinks and almost all of us stole Steph for a dance. While I was dancing with her, the music suddenly stopped. _

"_Damn wifey," I complained playfully. "Whenever I try to dance with you, something always interrupts us!"_

"_Yeah," she grinned, playing along. "It's like our wedding day all over again, Honey!" I chuckled and glanced at the man now at the DJ booth. _

"_It's karaoke time!" he announced. Several whoops punctuated the air. We started to move back to the booth when the guy suddenly called out. "How about the sexy little lady in red?" and the spotlight fell on us. _

_Steph turned around slowly, red flooding her cheeks. _

"_I'm sorry," she smiled shyly. "I don't sing."_

"_Ah, come one, Wifey," I cajoled. "Give it a shot!"_

"_No," she protested again. "I don't sing."_

_Several Rangemen began cheering her on, which prompted the crowd to begin chanting "Bombshell". I watched as she caught Ranger's eye. He was wearing an almost-smirk, and raised an eyebrow at her in a silent question. She tilted her head to the side then sighed. Ranger's smirk became a full-on grin and she pouted._

"_Fine," she muttered under her breath._

"_And you shout at us about having ESP, Wifey," I teased. "You just had a full, telepathic conversation with the only man in the world we can't read!"_

_She blushed again, and headed reluctantly to the booth, cheers and whistles erupting around her. She told the DJ her song, then took the mike with a deep breath. She looked down as she began to sing._

_Face to face_

_And heart to heart_

_We're so close, yet so far apart._

_I close my eyes. I look away._

_That's just because, I'm not okay._

_She looked up now, looking directly at Ranger. The crowd was so silent you could hear a pin drop._

_But I hold on…I stay strong_

_Wondering if we still belong_

_Will we ever, say the words we're feeling?_

_Reach down underneath and tear down all the walls?_

_Will we ever, have our happy ending?_

_Or will we forever, always be pretending?_

_We were all captivated, not a single soul making a sound as we all listened to the angelic voice pouring out around us. It was as though my darkness was being lifted from me. Still, she looked at Ranger, and I saw the awe and love and so many other emotions on his normally blank face._

_Keeping secrets safe, every move we make,_

_Seems like no one's letting go._

_And it's such a shame, coz if you feel the same_

_How am I supposed to know?_

_Here, she dragged the last word, and lifting her head slightly, she held the note taking it higher and higher, stealing our breath. As she sang the last chorus, she closed her eyes, as though letting her own words wash over her. With the last note, she opened her eyes and looked again at Ranger, her eyes suspiciously bright. As the last sound died from her lips, and the music stopped, the silence in the club lasted a second or two longer. Then, the whole place burst into raucous applause. Whoever was sitting was now standing up and I saw some people swiping tears surreptitiously from their eyes. The guys from Rangemen were all on their feet, whistling and cheering. All, except Ranger. He was also standing, but he was silent, his eyes locked on her form. His eyes, I could see from here, smouldered with love, awe, and no doubt, repressed desire. Steph was smiling at the people around her. Lester made his way up to her and enveloped her in a huge hug, spinning her around. _

"_Encore!" a few people shouted. Steph laughed. Santos leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She giggled then nodded. He grabbed a mic from the DJ and dragged her to the make-shift stage. Music filtered through the speakers again, fast this time, and the crowd went wild._

"_You know I'm just gonna hurt you?" she started into the mike, glancing at Lester with a sultry look on her face._

"_You know I'm only gonna break your heart, right?" he answered._

"_You wanna bet?" she challenged. Evidently, this was part of the song._

"_Bring it on," Les grinned, and the music started. Before he could sing his first note, Steph walked a bit away. As she predicted, he followed her, and at the last minute, she turned around, swinging her hips, and she brushed against him. Due to his groan, he missed his first line, but quickly picked it up, an evil look promising revenge in his eyes._

_Before I love and leave you_

_They call me heartbreaker_

_I don't wanna deceive you_

_If you fall for me, I'm not easy to please._

_I might tear you apart_

_Told you from the start, baby from the start_

_I'm only gonna break_

_Break your_

_Break _

_Break your heart._

_Steph laughed as the chorus continued, getting ready for her part. As he readied for her part, she strutted over to us, positioning herself behind Hal._

_There's no point trying to hide it_

_No point trying to evade it_

_I know I've got a problem._

_She scraped her hand, from behind him, down Hal's chest, as she sang the next line:_

_A problem with misbehaving!_

_All the men hooted and whistled as Hal turned beet red. Ranger looked on stoically, his jaw tight and his eyes screaming jealousy and repressed rage. _

_If you fall for me_

_I'm not easy to please_

_I might tear you apart_

_Told you from the start_

_Baby, from the start_

_I'm only gonna break_

_Break your_

_Break _

_Break your heart_

_As she sang, she became more animated, dancing and shaking and twirling with Lester. Each time he touched her, I think the boss became just that much angrier. When they sang the last note, Les twirled her into him and dipped her low, bending her back at waist and following her down to plant a hard kiss to her lips. I may have been imagining things, but I could swear I heard Ranger growl. _

"_Damn, Angel!" Cal called as they made their way back to our table. "I thought you said you couldn't sing?"_

"_I said that I don't sing," she corrected with a smile. "Not that I couldn't."_

"_Christ, Beautiful," Les squeezed her around the waist, and Ranger's grip on his glass tightened almost imperceptibly. "Where in the world did that voice come from?"_

"_Yeah," I called out with a mock pout. "I'm supposed to know everything about you, Wifey! Why on earth did you hide such a beautiful voice?"_

"_Thanks, guys," she laughed, "but I'm not that amazing. I can hold a tune," she shrugged._

"_You were amazing, Darlin', really," Woody winked at her._

"_Si, Angelita," Hector agreed. Steph smiled brilliantly and tugged Cal to the dance floor as Les took his place between Ranger and I. _

"_Mats, cuz, 0500," I heard Ranger growl. "And keep your lips to yourself next time."_

###END FLASHBACK###

A few people grinned at the memory, and others nodded in acknowledgement of what happened.

"What changed?" Ranger asked.

###

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the positive reviews and feedback! I'm over the moon about it and this is my way of saying thanks! The flashbacks will stop soon, I just wanted to show distinct differences in Steph. So glad you'll are enjoying it! Please read and review and I'll update soon! Reviews to me are like Tastykakes are to Steph! Also, isn't Hector, Bobby and Manny total sweethearts? -JazMitch**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Not mine, though I wish every day for a piece of Cuban God!**

**A/N: I'm so sorry to those of my awesome reviewers to whom I haven't responded yet. Things are hectic right now, but I will try to get around to it. You are all amazing though, and it is through you that I update and post! I just hope you don't hate me for this chapter (Author hides her face in anticipation).**

**This one's dedicated to And The Band Played Waltzing M. I'm sorry I couldn't respond to your PM. I maintain that, no matter what, you're awesome. You just need to see that in yourself, and everyone else can stuff it. **

RPOV

I had mixed emotions as Manny recounted the Taylors apprehension. I was so proud of Babe that night…and so damn turned on. She looked sexy as hell in that curve hugging dress, and her curls loose, and her mile-long legs…Christ, I could have taken her right there. Her voice was stunning, and as she sang, each word etched on to my heart. My soul called out to her with every note, and she touched something inside of me. It was as close to pure and angelic as someone like me would ever get. I could have shot Lester when he sang and danced with her, and almost did when he dipped and kissed her. I had an excellent meeting with him on the mats the next morning to warn him to keep his lips to himself…let's just say that bruised ribs, a sprained shoulder and multiple interesting coloured abrasions, as well as 2 months on monitors was enough to convince my annoying flirt of a cousin to stay the hell away from my Babe, in every romantic way. Or at least, I thought so. Of course, Santos lived to prove me wrong. The idiot jackass went as far as to tell me to get my crap together or Steph would become fair game. It was at that point that he realised I was minutes away from emptying a round of bullets in his ass, just to be faulty.

Of course, I realised he was right. Maybe he or one of my men wouldn't pursue Steph, but to anyone else, she was- as Santos so eloquently put it- fair game. That thought made me murderously angry; the thought of someone else touching Steph…kissing her…telling her how beautiful she is… maybe even calling her "Babe"…telling her that he loved her…

Me. That should be me. The thought hit me like a freight train and sent a bolt up and down my spine. I knew I loved Steph…I was _in love _with her. Thinking back, she had _always_ been mine…and I had pushed her away, time after time. _Not anymore, _I resolved. **She was mine**. And I would make that official when I saw her next. No excuses. I could protect her from my enemies, just like I've protected her from her own. She would wait for me during my missions, I knew, I trusted her implicitly. She needed to know how much I loved her. Needed to know how important she was to me. She was my breath. My life.

I mentally shook myself, realising that Manny was just about done with his story, relaying now my command to Santos to the mats and the comment about keeping his lips to himself. I focussed on everyone around me; I had to help Steph, before I could profess my love for her.

"What changed?" I asked Manny.

"When last has she hung out with us after distractions?" Tank answered instead, looking at me baffled. I almost rolled my eyes at him- _thank you, Steph_- before I stopped myself.

"I noticed that she doesn't hang out with us anymore, Tank," I said sharply. The message was clear; I was no idiot and Tank was drawing a thin line now. He backed off, realising that my patience was wearing thin. "I meant, why isn't she? Why did she stop?"

I thought to the past couple of distractions she had been involved in. She had jetted after every one of them, even when the guys had asked her to stay. She even went as far as walking home one night. I remember the night because she scared me half to death, leaving without a word. I lost track of her and assumed she'd gone to the restroom. When she hadn't returned after 15 minutes, I started looking for her. Once the lot proved clear, I had called the control room for her whereabouts. Her trackers showed her at her house. After Scrog, my mind went into panic mode, and I immediately suspected the worst. I rode to her apartment on my own at breakneck speed, terrified that she was being held or even worse, tortured…

###FLASHBACK###

_I sprinted up to her apartment, fear beating out a jagged pounding in my heart. I picked the locks quickly and, drawing my gun, slipped stealthily into her place. After securing the rest of the place, I sneaked down the hall to her bedroom. I listened for a second, for any sound, and when I heard none, I broke through the door. When I saw her on the bed, still and unmoving, my heart stopped. It only lasted a tenth of a second, though, before Steph registered the sound. She let out a scream, jumping a mile in the air, and scrambling out of bed, forgetting that she was wearing only my t-shirt. She stood there, clutching her chest in fear and panting, when her surprise quickly turned to annoyance._

"_Christ, Ranger, what the hell?" she spluttered. _

"_Babe."_

"_Why on earth did you just storm my bedroom? Jesus, ask a man to make some noise and he becomes a frikn jack-in-the-box-slash-bedroom." She grumbled, sitting on her bed again. I fought my smirk at her irritation._

"_Babe, why did you leave? How did you get home? Why didn't you tell me?" I asked._

"_I left for the obvious reasons," she replied, blushing. What obvious reasons? I thought. Before I could ask, she continued, "and I walked home. It was a nice night out, so I figured I'd walk instead of bothering you." This statement made me forget about my earlier question, and the obvious reasons comment._

"_Babe, you never bother me. I'd have been glad to bring you home. It's not safe for you to be walking around at this time of the night," I gently admonished her._

"_I was fine," she looked at her lap, playing with the edge of her blanket. Concern assaulted me, and I noticed that she hadn't looked me in the eye since I came here. I sat beside her and caught her chin in my hand. I gently but firmly coaxed her face up so I could see her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked tired. She pulled away, realising that I saw the evidence, and started to get up, but I snared an arm around her waist and pulled her back against me._

"_Babe," I breathed, landing soft kisses to her neck until she relaxed in my arms. "Why the tears?" I stopped just below her ear then slowly licked the shell of her ear, biting down gently on the top, then flicking my tongue over the spot again, to sooth the sting of the bite. She moaned and leaned her head to the side, granting me better access. I dipped my head and closed my mouth around her earlobe and sucked hard. Steph moaned louder and ground against me a little. I growled, quickly realising I was at a point of losing control. Unwilling to let the subject of her tears go, regardless of how satisfying I knew this could end, I jerked my head away and flipped Steph under me, straddling her. I gently gathered her wrists in one hand and pinned it above her head, holding her captive. He blue eyes turned cobalt with desire and I groaned inwardly at the sexy sight that met my eyes; Steph, wild haired and panting with desire, clad in nothing but my t-shirt and lace underwear. I forced myself to focus on the fact that her now-cobalt eyes were still tainted with the reminder of her tears. I leaned down and brushed a soft kiss on her nose, and when she closed her eyes, I planted a soft kiss on each lid._

"_Why the tears, Babe?" I asked again. She tensed under me and shifted her head to the side again. _

"_Nothing," she denied feebly, "I just…I stubbed my toe and tripped over the mat in the hallway. No big."_

_I raised an eyebrow at her obvious lie; Steph didn't cry over stubbing her toe- she swore the world as though cussing was going out of fashion. At the same time, I saw the stubborn set to her jaw and knew I wasn't going to get answers from her now. I sighed inwardly, then leaned down and caught her lips in a tender kiss, coaxing her mouth open and running my tongue languidly over hers in a sensual caress before catching her bottom lip between my teeth and sucking it hard. She moaned again, into my mouth this time, arching her body into me, and I forced myself away, not trusting myself to stay without ripping my shirt off her. _

"_Night, Babe," I grinned as I left her bedroom. A second later, I heard the soft thump of a pillow hitting the door and a heady, mumbled, "Ass."_

_I chuckled softly and let myself out. As I got into the Turbo and drove away, amusement was far from my mind though, a more pressing question dominating my thoughts._

_What are you hiding from me, Babe?_

###END FLASHBACK###

Thoughts ran through my mind relentlessly. What did she mean by "left for the obvious reasons"? And why was she crying that night?

"There was a night," I told them, careful in choosing my words, "when she was quite upset after a takedown. She had been crying but didn't want to say why and when I asked why she had left early, she only claimed it was for "obvious reasons". Not that I knew what she meant by that."

"Crying?" Santos repeated sharply. "And she wouldn't explain why?" I nodded the affirmative. He swore under his breath.

"Did anyone here say anything to her?" Cal looked around, exuding a manacing air. I took a moment to appreciate how my Babe could turn a tattooed, hulking, monster of a man into the over-protective bigger brother type.

_Only you, Babe._

###

Cal POV

I felt my blood boil when Ranger told us that my angel was crying. At first I thought someone may have said something to her, and my temper bubbled under the surface. I glared menacingly as I asked them if they had said something to upset her. No one gave any indication of having done so, so I relaxed my suddenly tense posture and leant back in my chair.

I am not what someone would call an affectionate, compassionate or caring person; I was quite, in fact, the opposite; yet I was all 3 in the case of one Stephanie Michelle Plum. When the curly haired, blue eyed Bombshell entered my life with her sheer, pure goodness, something changed for me. I was tainted with darkness, and I knew this girl knew it, but when she smiled at me, I felt like the light would come back. I've done a lot that I wasn't particularly proud of, but that didn't stop her from not only treating us as equals rather than inferiors, but also loving us in the same way. She cared about us, and this somehow, being around her light, it pulled us away from the dark; from the bad stuff.

At first, what struck me was that this girl was an angel. Of course, the first cuss word out of her mouth convinced me otherwise! Inwardly, though, she would always be my angel. She was my saving grace.

It never ceased to amaze me, just how much she saw in us cold-blooded mercenaries that we never even saw ourselves. Before she came, we were all emotionless, decidedly heartless guys when it came to people who weren't our family or our brothers in arms. Once she arrived, all that changed, simply because she saw differently. I was there at Pinos the day she handed the cop his ass, and imagine this badass SEAL's surprise when I heard her reasoning for it- that she felt the need to defend us from his derogatory remarks. Of course, it wasn't the first time my angel had stood up for one of us…

###FLASHBACK###

_Arriving at the scene of the explosion, I scanned the area, trying to mask my panic, to find my Angel. My heart slowed when I spotted her a few feet away from the smoking remnants of her latest POS car. She looked dejectedly at the debris before looking up and seeing me. Immediately, her face lost some its tension and her beautiful smile appeared. Seeing her direct her warm grin at me lifted some of my own tension; I didn't realise how much I really hated it when I couldn't see that gorgeous smile of hers. I made my way to her with Binkie, who was patrolling with me when we got the car, and she got up from her perch on the sidewalk. _

"_It wasn't my fault, guys," she claimed, as soon as we reached her. Binkie laughed and I just gathered her in a hug. She went up on her toes and pressed a kiss to the flaming skull tattoo on my forehead before she snuggled into my chest and mumbled into it, "It really wasn't, Cal. It was the stupid FTA," she sniffled a little and I tightened my arms around her, glaring at Binkie, warning him to stop. He did, looking instantly worried and remorseful._

"_I know it wasn't your fault, Angel," I leaned down and whispered in her ear. "And to prove it, I'm going to take you for lunch." She never let go of me but her head shot up from my chest and she looked up at me. Her big blue eyes were filled with tears but she had brightened considerably at the mention of lunch._

"_Really?" she asked with a smile. I ruffled her hair affectionately. _

"_Yeah, kiddo."_

"_What about the cops?" she wondered. I threw my partner a grin._

"_Binkie can take care of it since he laughed at you," I answered. Binkie glared at me but tugged on the end of one of Steph's curls._

"_Don't worry, Bombshell," he said. "Go get something to eat. I got you covered." _

_Steph threw her arms around him as well and he chuckled happily. She thanked him, kissed him on the cheek, promised to bring him back a sub and Coke, and headed back to our SUV. She chattered away on the way to lunch and I was glad to see she had stopped berating herself._

"_Where's Ranger?" she asked._

"_He isn't back from the Wind yet, Angel," I answered, smiling at the pout that appeared on her face._

"_Where are we going, Cal?" she asked me, ditching the pout and focussing on her more immediate plans._

"_A diner not far from here. Their subs rival Pinos'," I grinned at her, knowing how much this would intrigue her. She practically started jumping up and down in her seat with excitement. I marvelled inwardly at how steadfastly she had integrated herself into our lives and hearts. When we got to the place, we ordered our food and sat at the counter to wait for it. Steph was chatting when I heard two women behind us, sitting at a table, talking in what they seemed to think was a hushed whisper._

"_Did you see his skull tattoo?" one of them asked. "He's obviously just a low-life criminal."_

"_Yeah," the other agreed, "they seem to let any old trash in here these days."_

_I shrugged these comments off- I had heard and been called much worse. Then I noticed my Angel's hands tighten into fists and she got up, her posture stiff. I realised then that she had also heard them._

"_Angel, don't," I tried. She shook off my hand and whirled around, her normally friendly blue eyes now spitting fire._

"_HEY!" she snarled at the ladies, who promptly looked up in shock. "How dare you speak about him like that?" she demanded. "You don't even know who he is!"_

"_Honey," one of them tried to interrupt her. 'Uh-oh', I thought. 'Big mistake.'_

"_Oh, don't you "Honey" me, Miss Priss!" she snapped. She was in full blown rhino-mode. "You think, just because of his badass tattoo, that he's a bad guy? Well, let me tell you, Skank, he is one of the best guys in the world. Low life criminal my ASS! He was a SEAL," I saw her chest puff out with pride and my heart warmed, "and he is one of the most honourable men I know. So kindly get a clue and keep your full-of-crap words to yourself, you two cent, witless little tarts!" _

_She spun back around and grabbed my hand, pulling me up. "Come on, Cal, we're leaving," she announced. She sent a scathing sneer at the two women. "It's a pity," she sent another pointed, disgusted look at them; "they seem to let any old trash in here these days." With that, hand in mine, she stormed out. She got into the SUV and slammed the door shut._

"_Angel?" I said softly. She looked at me and all the anger left her body, and sadness entered her eyes. She threw her arms around me._

"_Oh, Cal, I'm so sorry!" she mumbled. "I can't believe…ugh, please don't for one minute believe anything those horrible little ice-creams said!"_

"_Angel," I was chuckling now. I gently extracted her arms from around my neck and forced her to look at me. I let her see the warmth in my eyes; the gratitude. No-one had ever stuck up for me like that before and it meant more than I could describe. "Thank you for doing that. It warms my heart to know you are proud of me and knowing that, means that anything anyone else thinks is more or less irrelevant." She smiled up at me. _

"_Well, I __**am**__ proud of you, Cal," she declared. I smiled then tensed as I became aware of someone approaching the car. Seconds later, there was a tap on the window. I turned away from Steph to see one of the ladies. Steph growled, and I hid a smirk as I rolled down the window. I looked at the woman expectantly._

"_Um…I, uh…I just…" she stuttered._

"_Spit it out," Steph groused. I put my hand over hers to calm her down. The woman straightened and looked straight at me._

"_I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry for what I said and for what my friend said too. We judged you without knowing the first thing about you, and I apologise for that. You were a SEAL…so was my dad. I am ashamed about my actions, and I hope you can forgive me. Had I known, I would never have questioned your honour. I sincerely apologise," she said earnestly._

_I nodded once. "Apology accepted." She smiled hesitantly then hurried back into the diner._

"_Tart," Steph muttered under her breath. I just laughed._

_My Angel. So it may seem, my guardian angel. Protecting me from the overactive mouths of vicious 'Burg housewives. _

_What were the odds?_

_###END FLASHBACK###_

Having her defend me like that was more than humbling. It had made my heart soar. Now, I knew it was my turn to protect her. I pulled myself from my reminiscent thoughts and focussed on the people around me. I watched as several people jerked back to reality from their own thoughts, as Bobby cleared his throat.

"I can't claim to know what caused this," he started, "but I did notice when it started."

"Go on," Ranger invited.

"After the DeChooch apprehension," he looked pointedly at Ranger and I watched as realisation flashed in his eyes. His fist came down on the table with staggering force.

"SHIT!" he cussed.

###

Ranger POV

"SHIT!" I exploded, letting out a string of expletives as it dawned on me. My Babe's confidence was shot, and it started after the DeChooch debacle…

This was all my fault.

I had fed her a bunch of bullshit lines about how my life didn't lend itself to relationships, and how I loved her "in my own way" and CRAP! I had once claimed that she was in my budget under Entertainment.

She thought she was unworthy, and my cousin was right; this one was all on me.

"Ranger!" Tank barked. "Want to explain your epiphany?"

I scrubbed my face with my hands, trying to figure out how I was going to explain this to them. "I said some…less than flattering things to her…" I trailed off. I watched as my core team registered in their minds that I was referring to the morning after we slept together. They were the only ones who knew about it. "I think she took it to heart, because I know that what's going on right now, has to do with her lack of self-esteem and her shot confidence."

Santos, Hector and several others started toward me, anger radiating off them. What stopped them, none of us could have anticipated.

"Ranger. We need to talk."

Stephanie.

###

Lester POV

I was seething when I realised exactly how badly my ass of a cousin had messed this up. I was en route to kicking his ass, when I heard the soft, sweet voice of the only person who can calm me down.

"Ranger. We need to talk."

Beautiful.

I scanned her face for any sign that she had heard what our meeting was about. She looked devastated and almost sick, as though she were about to boil a live kitten. Automatically, I reached out for her, wanting to take away the pain on her face. She stepped into my arms and gave me a quick hug before stepping back. Still, she looked physically ill and terrified.

"Babe?" Ranger made it sound like a question, and all at once, my rage returned. I tamped it down, trying to focus on my Beautiful. My best friend. She took a breath.

"Ok," she sighed, "I might as well tell all of you, since you're here." She looked up at us, forlorn and so lost that agony twisted my gut. I never wanted to see her in pain.

"Beautiful, what's going on?" I asked her. Foreboding settled deep in my gut.

"Guys," she announced, taking a deep breath and steeling herself, trying to mask her obvious despair, "I am here to inform you of a decision I made. Well, two, actually," she amended. "I have decided that it may be in everyone's best interest for me to resign from Rangeman Trenton."

There was an immediate uproar, which was uncommon for a bunch of mercenaries who were trained to keep their emotions hidden. Ranger bolted up from his chair, and I could scarcely breathe, much less ask her why. If she quit, I would only get to see her occasionally. But then, the agony on her face told me she wasn't quite done with her announcement. I wondered briefly what could possibly be worse. She fought tears and her face twisted in pain.

"Moreover, I am here to request that you grant me immediate leave, so I may get started with the preparations for my wedding to Detective Joseph Morelli."

**A/N: I repeat, please don't hate me! Stick with me, this is a Babe, I promise! Stick with me, don't give up on this story, and I swear to update on Thursday, and the next chapter should answer most of your questions! Just ask yourself this; why would Steph do the unthinkable? Read and review, and remember…please don't hate me! -JazMitch**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Not mine. It's my falling-star wish, though! May Angels Lead You In, belongs to Jimmy Eat World.**

**A/N: So, hopefully this chapter makes up for the last one…shout-out to Margaret and JenRar who are very close, but not quite right with their guesses into Steph's dilemma! Scary close!  
The angst is still here, so to make up for it, I posted a Babe one-shot which is full on FLUFF! It's called Simply Amazing…check it out!**

**Dedicated to Jay, Boytjie, Nunz and Manna. Four of the few people who see me as more than I see myself, and always encourage me to go further. Life would be dull without you guys! Cheers! **

Lester POV

I felt like I had been sucker punched. All of a sudden, my lunch threatened to make an appearance as I contemplated losing my best friend for good, because there was no way that _cop _would let Beautiful around us. I needed to understand…she had dumped the cop ages ago! After that day at Pino's I was sure it was all over, and she hadn't been around him at all since then. They haven't seen each other in so long, and the next thing, they're engaged?

Something was seriously off here.

"Beautiful," I grasped her arm, making her look at me, imploring her with my eyes. "I know something is going on here. I know something is wrong. Beautiful, you don't love him! I know you don't. Please, Steph. Please tell me. I can help you. We can."

"Oh, Les…" she choked, tears filling her brilliant sapphire eyes. "I'm so sorry. I have to do this. It's for the best."

"Beautiful," I pleaded now, "you don't have to do anything. Just tell me what's going on, please honey, please!"

She shook her head and silent tears cascaded down her cheeks. A shiver passed through her and I was momentarily confused. It was boiling hot out, she was dressed in jeans, sneakers and a blue turtleneck sweater, and she was feeling cold. Was she sick?

Woody, who was standing in the chair closest to her, stood up and reached out to her to give her his handkerchief, ever the gentleman. As he reached out to her, Steph caught the movement and visibly flinched, as if bracing herself.

Again, the feeling of being sucker punched. What happened? In the very next second, Steph seemed to realise what she did and guilt slammed into her eyes. Her crying increased and she launched herself into my arms, burying her face in my chest. Acting on instinct, I curled my arms into a protective cage around her, holding her tightly to my body. Her small body shook and I tightened my hold before I risked a look to my cousin. His blank mask was firmly in place, but having known him as long as I did, I knew the tightened jaw meant he was fiercely jealous. I sent him a challenging look, which he met head-on. His head moved down in an infinitesimal nod, acknowledging that he deserved that much after having put her through so much pain.

Personally, I was honoured and glad to be a source of comfort to my Beautiful. It was the least I could do after she had soothed my own tortured soul…

###FLASHBACK###

_**Bodies. Dead bodies all around me. The bodies of my brothers. My brothers-in-arms. The soldiers I had been with since I joined the Rangers. All dead. **_

_**The mission had gone FUBAR faster than anyone could have anticipated. Now, I was alone. **_

_**Carlos. **_

_**I needed to find my cousin. Panic, raw fear, ripped through me. Having to face all my dead brothers was bad enough, but to lose my blood brother…NO! Carlos was alive! He had to be. He was the best. I stalked slowly forward, trying not to retch at the mutilated corpses of my brothers. Suddenly, my leg caught on something and I tripped. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that I had tripped over a corpse's leg. When I saw the ankle holster on the leg, my heart stopped. When I saw the unmistakable, embossed "RCM" on the side, it picked up double time. NO…**_

_**I looked up into the disfigured, barely recognisable face of my cousin. My brother. Ricardo Carlos Manoso was dead.**_

"_**NOOO!" I screamed in anguish.**_

_I bolted upright in my bed, shaking with fear. The nightmare was one I had sometimes, though this was the first time in a while I had had it. It probably had something to do with the fact that Ranger just left to go in the wind, and I was anxious. _

_We had been doing government missions for a long time. The last mission I had gone on went FUBAR pretty fast. A bomb had gone off, and had killed half our men. Our brothers. I spent a significant amount of time ignorant as to whether my cousin was in the body count, and the thought tortured me more than any pain any soldier could inflict. We had always been extremely close as kids, and we had been on every mission together. After that last mission, thinking Carlos had died took a toll on me, and so the government had agreed to let me sit this mission out. Unfortunately, that meant Ranger going in without me, and not having his back just made me even more anxious. _

_Knowing that sleep would evade me now, I got up and dressed quickly in my workout clothes. I went up to the gym and in no time, began beating the shit out of a punching bag. I was so absorbed in my lethal combinations of punches and kicks, that I paid little to no attention to the presence I felt behind me. Someone was checking up on me, I just didn't know who, and at that moment, I didn't care. I went at the bag with all I had, until a soft, sweet voice penetrated my fog of helplessness._

"_Les?"_

_Damn it. I cussed inwardly once I recognised the voice as Beautiful's. She was hiding out on 7 on account of her new stalker, and she was scared already. She would be terrified of me if I allowed her to see the inner rage in my eyes. I stopped, leaned against the bag and panted in exertion, trying to reign myself in. When I felt a gentle, warm hand on my back, my body instantly calmed. I was shocked; it usually took ages for me to calm down after a loss of control as severe as that. I shifted my body toward her, still not looking her in the eye. _

_You could have knocked me over with a feather when she stepped forward, wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my chest. _

_Instinctively, I curled my arms around her, my big arms easily swallowing her tiny frame. I held her tightly to me, drawing from her calm, from her light, taking me further away from the darkness inside me. I shuddered a breath when I finally felt calm. She felt this, and drew back, only to take my hand in hers and lead me away from the punching bag. It dimly registered that she was leading me back to my apartment on 4. Once we were inside, she took me to my bedroom and sat on my bed, pulling me down with her. She made me lie down, then pulled the covers over me, sitting on the edge of my bed._

"_Geez, Les," she grinned at me, "guess you were right about always getting women to your bed."_

_Her joke caught me by surprise and I barked out a laugh. Whatever tension was in my shoulders promptly left as the chuckle rumbled in my chest._

"_I knew you couldn't resist me, Beautiful," I teased, shocked that I could still joke after my night so far._

"_What can I say?" she grinned at me. "I love a sweaty man in gym clothes beating the hell out of a punching bag." I laughed again, and my demons were all but chased away. She excused herself and left for a minute. I heard my apartment door close and I centred myself. She had lifted the fog of darkness that had loomed over me since the nightmare, so I was okay now. I was contemplating my ability to sleep when I heard the apartment door open and shut again. She bounded into the room, brandishing her secret weapon._

_A slice of chocolate cake. _

"_Damn Beautiful," I snickered, "where did you get that?"_

"_Secret stash," she winked at me. "Ella adores me." She plopped next to me again, and handed me the cake with a fork. She nudged me and pushed me until I ate the whole thing, only accepting a few bites from me in between. Once we were done, I began to feel sleepy once more. She switched off the lights. _

"_Les?" she asked me in the darkness._

"_Yeah, Beautiful?"_

"_You wanna talk about it?"_

"_I'm okay," I reassured her with a smile. "Just a dumb nightmare."_

"_Of a mission?" she guessed shrewdly. "Are you worrying about Ranger?"_

"_Just a little," I confessed. "But I know he's the best. He'll be fine."_

"_Yeah," she agreed, with a sleepy yawn. "He's Batman."_

"_Yeah, Beautiful," I chuckled. "He's Batman." _

_She reached out and threw her arms around me for a second before pulling back, kissing my cheek and sitting up. _

"_Whatever happened, Les, it wasn't your fault. And I'm sure they would agree with me, and tell you not to blame yourself. Get some sleep, Les, please," she requested. I was shocked; it seemed she was developing some ESP of her own._

"_I'll try," I promised her. _

"_You know," she giggled, "when I was little, and I had a nightmare, Grandma Mazur would sing me back to sleep."_

"_Beautiful," I said dead-panned, "badasses don't do lullabies."_

"_Okay," she giggled, "I'll just sing to myself then." She began to sing in a low, soft sweet voice, and I could barely make out the words._

_There's no-one in town I know_

_But you gave me someplace to go_

_I never said thank you for that_

_Thought I might get one more chance_

_So what would you think of me now?_

_So lucky, so strong, so proud._

_I never said thank you for that._

_Now I'll never have a chance_

_May angels lead you in…_

_Hear you me my friends_

_On sleepless roads the sleepless go_

_May angels lead you in._

_It was as though Beautiful was singing this song to the brothers I had lost that day…a tribute. A sense of peace and calm washed over me and all at once, I accepted what had happened and whispered a silent thank you to my brothers for giving me a place to go. With the acceptance, came the tired feeling of a soldier who had carried a load for far longer than he should have. In that moment, my soul felt clear for the first time since that mission when we'd lost so many good men. _

_As her angelic voice ran over me once more, I succumbed to the feelings pouring over me. Her song was a tribute to that day, for sure._

_And if you were with me tonight_

_I'd sing to you just one more time_

_A song for a heart so big_

_God wouldn't let it live._

_May angels lead you in._

_Peace came over my heart. I fell into a deep, restful sleep._

_When I woke up the next morning, Beautiful wasn't in my bed. I wandered into the lounge, more rested than I have been for a long time, my heart significantly lighter than it had been in months, when I saw Beautiful curled up on my couch, fast asleep. Warmth flooded me and I knew in that moment that I would kill, die and do anything else to protect my Beautiful who had rescued my soul. I picked her up and cradled her to my chest, carrying her to my bed. I set her down and tucked her in, just as she had done for me last night. Kissing her forehead, I whispered,_

"_Thank you, Beautiful."_

_I got up and turned to leave when her sleepy voice stopped me._

"_For what, Les?" she asked, soft with sleep and barely awake._

"_For last night, Beautiful," I answered, reaching over to remove a stray curl from her face. She smiled happily when I removed it, glad for the reprieve._

"_Anytime, Les," she said, snuggling down into the covers and promptly falling back to sleep._

_Cal and Hector were right. She was our Angel. My best friend. My Beautiful Angel._

###END FLASHBACK###

She had saved me in more ways than one that day. She became my little sister.

Right now, my little sister was in distress.

And I intended to find out why, and eliminate anyone who dared to cause it.

###

Ranger POV

When Babe announced that she was resigning, my heart twisted. I got up from my chair, and barely refrained from going to her, hoisting her over my shoulder and sprinting up to 7 with her before handcuffing her to something and begging her to stay. Something told me there was more to her news, and the wrenching in my gut told me I would not like it.

When she told me she was going to marry Morelli, it was all I could do not to drop to my knees in anguish. The only thought that ran through my head was _Oh, God, no, I'm going to lose her._

When she flinched at Woody, the protective instincts in me roared, and she when she launched herself at Santos in fear, jealousy bit down on me. He sent me a challenging look, as if daring me to take him one for this, and I inclined my head slightly to let him know I knew I deserved this. When he spoke to her, I heard her muffled voice claiming that this would be for the best and I instinctively knew something was going on. Logically, I knew that she hadn't seen the cop for months. How were they suddenly engaged? Every instinct in me told me that she needed help. That something was wrong with my Babe. I needed to find out.

"Dismissed," I barked out, heading over to Steph who was still cuddled in my cousin's arms. He kept his arms around her and I gently touched her head.

"Ranger?" she sniffled.

"Yeah, Babe," I whispered, caressing her cheek. She hesitated a second, before loosening her grip on Lester and launching herself at me now. I gripped her tightly to me, afraid to let go, and swung her up to catch her behind her knees. Cradling her to my chest now, I carried her to my office while she clung to me. Bobby followed us, but I ignored him. I sat on the couch with her on my lap. I held her close to me, and she relaxed in the security of my arms; it made me want to protect her from the whole world. She would be safe from everything, if she stayed in my arms. I wasn't sure I could let her go if I tried.

I began to murmur softly to her in Spanish. "Tue eres a salvo, amor. Vuelva a estar bien. Soy eres preterito. Shh…" I repeated these things to her waiting for her tears to ease. (You are safe, love. Everything will be alright. I got you.)

When she had subdued to an occasional hiccup, I bent my head and pressed my forehead to her own.

"Babe," I breathed, "everything is going to be okay. I've got you, Babe. I've got you."

"Ranger…" the word came out half as a plea and half resigned. I felt her stiffen slightly in my arms and I knew, instinctively, that I was about to lose her if I didn't do something about this. Bobby finally decided to make his presence known, so I curled my hand around her arm, intending to shift her into a more comfortable position on my lap, when suddenly she hissed air through her teeth in pain. Rage filled my body at her pain.

What the hell was going on?

###

Bobby POV

I followed the Boss and Bomber to his office, trying to keep a hold on the rage flowing through my body.

On the one hand, I was livid with Ranger. He was the cause of all of this, and all because he was too cowardly to tell her how much he loved her. If he had, we wouldn't be having this problem right now. On the other hand, I was also furious when I saw Bomber wince; she was in pain, I knew, and I intended on finding out who had dared to hurt our Bombshell. Our sister. I followed them, knowing that she needed to be taken care of. I hovered in the doorway as Ranger sat on the couch with Steph on his lap. I don't even think he noticed me following them yet.

He cradled her in his arms, holding her to him as though he was holding his entire world in his arms. He was looking at her as though she was the most precious thing to him. He had curled her body into his, as though he could use his body to protect her from everything outside of their own, perfect little world. He was whispering to her in Spanish, calling her "Love" and repeating that he had her and that she was safe and that everything was going to be okay. He switched from Spanish when she calmed down. He leaned into her and murmured, almost inaudibly,

"Babe, everything is going to be OK. I've got you, Babe. I've got you."

Damn if it wasn't the sweetest, most heart-warming thing I have seen in my entire life.

She said his name and it came out as something between begging and resignation. Unable to see her in pain, I stepped into the office. Ranger tensed slightly, and made to move her into a more comfortable position when she hissed in pain. I saw fury blaze in Ranger's eyes as it filled in my own body.

Tamping down the rage as best I could, I walked toward Steph.

"Hey Bomber," I said cautiously, not wanting to startle her. She looked at me, contemplation in her eyes for a split second, before smiling at me. Her smile looked tired though, as though it was partially forced, and it didn't reach her eyes.

"Hey Bobby," she greeted me with a finger wave.

"Want to sit on the couch for a second, Bombshell?" I suggested. "I want to check out your injuries." She hesitated, and I could see the thought of lying flash through her eyes.

"Babe." Ranger nuzzled her neck. "Don't even think about lying, we know you're hurt."

"Damn ESP," she grumbled, shifting herself off Ranger's lap and on to the couch. She looked scared for a moment then something happened that shocked Ranger and I in equal measure.

Steph wiped her face of all emotions and looked at us with a blank face to rival our own.

Then, I saw why.

Steeling herself, she lifted her shirt over her neck and tossed it over the armrest.

Scattered all over her torso and arms, were purple, black, blue and red bruises.

###

**A/N: Ah, I know the angst is getting a bit sad…don't worry, next chapter shall include some laughs that will make up for it! Read and review please…love reading the reviews and totally working on responding to them soon! Sorry! To those who have followed, favourited and/or reviewed, love you guys! You're my motivation! -JazMitch**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Just playing around with Ranger :)**

**A/N: Ok, I know I promised a laugh in this chapter, but the whole thing was too long and had to be broken into two chapters, so the laughs will come in the next chapter! Sorry, but still some angst!**

**Let's have a peek at Stephanie's POV…  
_**

**Dedicated to Jay. Thanks for the endless support and encouragement, Sanka! Love ya!**

**###**

RPOV

When Babe closed off her face with a disconcertingly good blank face, my gut twisted. I hated not being able to see her emotions and in that moment, I realised why she hates mine so much.

Then, she pulled off her shirt.

Her body was littered with fierce abrasions and injuries.

I saw the purple, black and blue marks. Then, all I saw was red.

It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to vocalise my fury with the inhuman roar that was building in my chest. I got up and strode to my desk, then to the door, and back to Steph. My rage hadn't subsided and I needed to hit something.

"Who?" I snarled the question with thinly veiled rage. It was only then that I noticed Bobby, barely containing his own anger, sending me a deadly stare. It was clear: _Speak to her like that again and I'll keep your ass away from her until you can control yourself. _

I roped in my anger, reminding myself that I couldn't scare Steph.

"Babe?" Ah, good, my tone was slightly more even now. "Who the hell did this to you?" _Just say his name, Babe, _I pleaded internally, _so that I can go kill the asshole, to hell with his badge._

"Ranger, calm down," she pleaded with me.

"Not a chance, Babe," I growled slightly. "I'm going to kill him."

"I just had a rough run-in with a skip, Ranger," she lied. I stared at her in frustration. What the hell? She was protecting the cop, who beat her up?

It was only after I got over my rage and incredulity that I saw her mouth; _We need to go to seven._

"Brown," I barked, wondering why she was being stealthy, but trusting her nonetheless. "Take Steph up to seven, we can treat her there." He nodded once and Steph put her shirt on. She came up to me and hugged me close. She turned her head into my neck, just below my ear and breathed,

"Bring the core team, Cal, Hector, Ram and Hal. Manny too. Be discreet." She pulled away and I nodded, tilting my head only a fraction down, but she got it. Brown put his arm around her waist, supporting her, and she batted it away gently.

"I'm okay, Bobby," she said gently. "Really." He nodded, the tension in his posture contradicting his agreement. Once they were in the elevator, I called everyone she asked me to call telling them individually to meet us on 7 as soon as possible before heading up myself. I opened the door to find Brown and Steph in a face-off in the living room, Steph looking defiant with her chin jutting out and her hand fisted against her hips and Brown looking frustrated and worried in equal measure, his forehead scrunched up and his mouth set in a straight line.

"What's going on?" I asked in a level tone.

"Steph is refusing treatment," Brown answered at the same time that Steph grumbled,

"Bobby wants to poke at my bruises."

"Babe."

"Fine," she ground out with a pout. She relaxed her stance and involuntarily winced as Bobby reached out, before he even touched her. I watched, despair and fury mixing in a nauseating ball in my stomach as she forced herself to relax.

"I'll be gentle, Sweetheart," Brown murmured, in a pained voice. I realised now, how much this was hurting him too.

"Oh, Bobby, I know," Steph mumbled, her voice agonised. She launched herself at him and enveloped him in a hug. He held her close but carefully, looking as though her pain made him physically ill. "You heal me, Bobby. You make me better. I know that. You'll understand everything in a minute."

"It's okay, Sweetheart. It's okay," he comforted her.

She pulled away when she heard the front door open. Quickly, she positioned herself behind Bobby and pulled her shirt back over her head. As the men assembled in the lounge, she took a deep breath and stepped next to me.

"Guys, please sit down," she gestured to the couches. She looked at me questioningly, asking if this was ok, and I nodded encouragingly, trying hard to keep a handle on my still-flaring temper. I locked my muscles, trying to keep from punching something in frustration.

"Okay," she rubbed her hands together nervously, "I need to show you guys something, but you need to promise to keep the anger in check." There were nods and words of agreement. She took another deep breath and pulled off her top for the second time. A small, Alpha-dominant part of me was glad she was wearing a sports bra rather than one of her lacy, Victoria Secrets pairs.

The silence in the room was deafening. Tension hung thick in the air and I could feel the fury in the room as tangible as my own. I willed myself not to react to it and seek out someone's blood.

"Who?" the growled, half strangled question that mimicked my own came from my cousin. I noticed that Santos was shaking with supressed rage and I curled my fists tightly to reign in the emotion. I caught his eye and sent him a look that warned him to calm down, much like Brown had done for me.

"Okay, guys," Steph sighed. "You'll need to know the whole story."

I braced myself, praying I didn't break anything that couldn't be replaced.

Praying that I didn't hunt that cop down and break every bone in his body, beating him until he begged for death.

###

Stephanie POV

"Okay, guys," I sighed in resignation. "You'll need to know the whole story." I waited a moment and watched as the guys tried to compose themselves. Les, I could see, still trembled from his rage and Ranger's muscles were coiled so tightly I wondered if he'd be able to unlock them ever again. The rest of the men were no different. I was touched that they cared so much about me.

I was most worried about Hector. He lacked the control that Ranger and Les had and if I was reading him right, he was currently planning torture methods that would make Aries, the Greek God of war run terrified. I hoped Ranger would be able to calm him down; I doubted it, since I was willing to bet Ranger was indulging in a similar exercise.

I took a deep breath and began my story.

"After that day in Pinos," I started, "I haven't seen Joe. He didn't even press charges on Ranger for punching him. That should have been my first indicator that he was up to no good. I had dared to hope that he would leave me alone. Two days ago, he dashed that hope."

"It was the cop?" Les spat venomously.

"Yeah," I whispered. Taking another deep, cleansing breath, I steeled myself. I had to do this. Sending a quick prayer for strength, I told them what happened…

###FLASHBACK###

_I walked out of the Tasty Pastry to see the man I hadn't seen in months leaning against my car._

"_Cupcake," he smirked at me._

"_Morelli," I returned curtly. "Don't call me that."_

"_I missed you, too, __**Cupcake**__," he said mockingly. _

"_What the hell do you want, Joe?" I snarled. _

"_I'm going to follow you home, and we're going to talk," he snapped at me._

"_Not a chance in hell."_

_He got right up in my face. Glaring at me, he shot his hand out and yanked my hair into one hand, his other hand crushing my arm in a bruising grip. I was about to retaliate when he leaned down and whispered, "I wouldn't do that, Cupcake. Unless you want to be the reason someone dies today."_

"_Yeah, right, Morelli," I snorted. Still, I didn't knee him in the groin and flip him over my shoulder; I was unwilling to chance something with Joe when he went crazy. _

"_Now, I'm going to walk you to your car and then I'm going to follow you to your apartment. If you even think of causing trouble for me, I want you to have this to think about," he explained, promptly handing me an envelope. When I opened it, my blood ran cold in my veins. _

_Inside, was a picture of Mooner sitting on his couch. Behind him, poised at the window, was a man in a ski mask, pointing a gun at the oblivious Mooner's head. My stomach convulsed. _

_Mooner, just as much of an FTA as he was, had also become a friend. He was touched by my considerate treatment of him and I was touched by his thoughtful little gestures. For example, when he found out it was my birthday last year, he made a peanut butter and olive sandwich and kept it ready with a can of beer and a handmade card for when I came to fetch him to get re-bonded. He was a sweet guy and a good friend, and I sure as hell wanted to protect him, especially if Morelli had lost his rocker completely and actually had a man stationed there to take him out._

_As I mentioned before, I was not willing to take that chance. I walked as calmly as I could to my Explorer, Joe gripping me hard enough to leave a nasty bruise in the morning. In the back of my mind, I thought of how ticked off the guys were going to be about this. _

_Satisfied I wasn't going to try anything with my friend's life in the balance, he shoved me into the car. Evidently, he didn't completely trust me though; with a smirk, he got into the passenger seat._

"_What are you doing?" I asked. "I thought you were going to follow me."_

"_And give you a chance to call your thugs?" he snorted. "I'm not an idiot, Cupcake."_

"_Could've fooled me," I scoffed._

_Without warning, Joe backhanded me. Hard. I saw stars for a minute as my head bounced off the window. _

"_Don't give me attitude," he said calmly. "As my future wife, you need to learn your place."_

"_I'm never going to marry you, Joe," I spat belligerently. Wrong answer. I felt the unmistakable, cool edge of a blade against my thigh. I shivered in horror; what had become of the man who once claimed to love me?_

"_Never is a long time, Cupcake," he sneered, applying enough pressure to break the first layer of skin. I hissed in pain, clenching my jaw, afraid of what would come next. Mustering up some courage (or stupidity) I simply replied,_

"_Don't call me Cupcake, Joe."_

_He pressed the knife further in, still just scratching the surface though, I knew. I bit my cheek to keep from whimpering; I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt me. Trying to figure out how to get myself out of this one, I started my car and drove slowly to my apartment. I briefly wondered about the panic buttons in my apartment, before I was interrupted._

"_Wait," Joe commanded, looking thoughtful. "Turn around," he instructed with a leer. "We're going to my place."_

_I groaned inwardly. There went my last hope. _

_When we got there, Joe used his knife to encourage me into the house. I heard Bob bark and when he didn't come running, I figured he was tied up. He led me to the basement and my blood ran cold when he proceeded to tie me to a steel bar above me. My arms felt awkward and uncomfortable, held above my head, and I groaned when he tied my feet together with a cinder block on the end. The ropes cut into my skin and I winced. Straightening, Joe surprised me with another stinging backhand._

"_Why are you doing this, Joe?" I asked, through the blood that was in my mouth. Hopefully, I could try to get the old Joe out from underneath the psycho that stood before me. _

_No such luck._

"_You are supposed to be my __**WIFE**__, Stephanie! You're supposed to be __**MINE**__! Instead, you chose those thugs- those cruel, heartless S. - over me! You would rather be Manoso's WHORE than the Italian Stallion's WIFE!" he raged._

"_Yes, Joe," I couldn't help my belligerent side. "I would sooner be his whore, than your anything!"_

_And that was the final push. _

_His fists rained down on me in an endless torrent. I felt my ribs crack but before I could scream he was already slamming his foot into my side. My entire body screamed with pain. All the while, Joe was ranting._

"_He will NEVER love you! you're a disappointment; an embarrassment! He only keeps you around for an occasional roll in the hay, because he knows what a stupid, useless, incompetent little slut you are! You're nothing to him Stephanie; nothing to any of them but a piece of ass to ogle! You think you'll ever amount to anything more? You're a failure, Plum, you always have been!"_

_I couldn't help but agree with what he was saying; it wasn't far from the truth. Ranger could never love me; I'd come to accept that over the last few months, and I really was a failure. I couldn't understand how anyone at Rangemen could stand me. I was just a big embarrassment to them all. _

_Finally, Joe stopped. I was bloody all over, but he'd been careful to leave my face alone after the first few backhands. Then, he held out a phone. _

"_Mary Lou will pick up the phone in a minute," he told me, holding the phone to my ear. "Ask her what she's wearing. She'll tell you she's wearing a green skirt with a cream blouse, and that she's at the supermarket."_

_My heart pounded as I heard the ringing. _

"_Steph, honey!" Mary Lou squealed._

"_Hey Lou," I croaked._

"_Are you sick, Hon?"_

"_Yeah, something like that. Lou, do me a favour…tell me where you are, and how you're dressed? I thought I saw someone that looked like you," I fibbed. _

"_Are you near the supermarket, Hon?" she asked, and my veins froze. "That's where I am. I'm wearing my green skirt and the beige blouse Lenny gave me for my birthday."_

"_Sorry, Lou, guess I was wrong," I choked out, trying to tamp down the panic that was building. "Talk to you later." _

_Joe took the phone, flipping it shut. _

"_Now do you believe me, or do I need to make another point?" he asked. _

"_No," I jumped, wincing at the pain that rocketed through my body. "What do you want?"_

"_Marry me," he sneered. _

"_Joe…" I started, then Joe's trump card walked down the stairs._

_Mom._

"_Really Stephanie," she tsked. "Have you beaten some sense into her, Son?" she simpered at Morelli._

"_Mom…" I choked, tears blurring my vision._

"_I really wish you wouldn't call me that," she looked at me with disgust. "You deserve all of this and more. Why me? Why couldn't you just be good little 'Burg girl like your sister, you filthy, worthless, pathetic excuse for a daughter?"_

_That was my breaking point. Tears streamed down my face in rivers. _

"_You have a choice, Cupcake," Joe snarled. "Marry me, or watch the people you love die…and then, watch all the brutal murders get pinned on Rangeman."_

_I made my choice._

###END FLASHBACK###

"I slept in the basement that night. When Joe kicked me in the ribs to wake me up the next morning, I had to work to stop a new bout of tears. With instructions to hide my bruises, he sent me upstairs. Almost in a trance, I dressed in jeans and a turtleneck and slathered make-up on to hide the bruising on my cheeks. Once I was downstairs, I was told to report here today and hand in my resignation, effective immediately, and to announce my impending marriage," I finished off.

I could feel the rage pouring off every man in the room. Hector's face had hardened into granite and I saw the blaze in his eyes; he was ready to kill.

Lester shook with rage, and in his eyes too, was the dark emptiness of a man ready to kill again. Every man in the room had that hardened edge to his eyes now. I didn't dare chance a look at Ranger, especially now he knew I would sooner be his whore than Morelli's wife. I was mortified at having to tell him, but he needed to know the whole conversation. I hastened to try and dial the rage back a bit.

"You guys can't do anything yet," I warned them. "I have to figure out who else I know he's targeting and get them to safety. If that means pretending to be his fiancé for a few days, so be it."

There was an immediate uproar. I flinched at the unexpected snarls, and found myself wrapped in a strong pair of arms.

"We won't hurt you, Sweetheart." Bobby. "We do, however, plan on killing the cop." I forced myself to relax.

"I know, Bobby," I reassured him as much as myself. I stepped out of his arms. "We are, however, not discussing this part. I will be doing this my way. I will not be the reason these people die."

"Beautiful, please," Les turned to me pleading. "We can find another way…"

"Not in time, Les," I said sadly. I straightened my back, hoping to look tougher. "I can handle whatever he does to me. It won't be for too long, just until I find out who he can harm and how."

"No." Ranger spoke for the first time. His voice was clipped and when I was met his blank face, I almost dropped to my knees in pain. "We are not going to send you in there."

"Yes you are," I met his challenge firmly, while chiding myself for being so worthless to him he couldn't even send me into the lion's den. "This is the only way to make sure no one else gets hurt. I am going to do this. All I need to know from you'll is whether you'll have my back, or whether I'm going in alone."

"We got you, Angel," Cal answered immediately. "As long as we get the cop to play with when all has been said and done."

"Si," Hector agreed.

"Fine," I conceded. "Just don't get caught." I couldn't say that I cared much if Joe died. He wasn't the Joe I knew anymore.

"I have a question, Little girl," Tank addressed me. "Why did you ask us up here? Why make that announcement in front of everyone, only to tell us now that it was a lie?"

"That's the next problem," I cringed. "Rangeman has a traitor. Morelli has an inside informant. And it's someone from the building."

###

Lester POV

When Beautiful announced that we had a nark among us, Ranger left the room. Within a few seconds, we heard a resounding crash. Steph yelped and fear ravaged her face. Tank strode out to calm Ranger down and I was next to Beautiful in three long steps. Cuddling her to me, I whispered,

"You're okay, Beautiful. You're safe now."

She hid her face in my chest, and noticing that Ranger hadn't returned yet, I took charge.

"Men, get back to 5 before the mole starts to get suspicious," I ordered. "I trust that I don't need to tell you that this doesn't leave this room. We will confer later. Go about your day as normal; we can't let them know they're on our radar. Bobby, stay, the rest of you, leave. All of them left, albeit reluctantly, with a hug and kiss to Beautiful and a promise to protect her. all of them, except Hector.

"_Hombre…"_ I started.

"No, it's okay," Beautiful interrupted me. "Hector stays. Please."

"Okay," I caved immediately. Anything to make her feel safe again. White hot rage filled my bones; they would never find the piece of the cop's body when we were done with him. I idly wondered what on earth made him think he could mess Rangeman's beating heart, our sister, and get away with it.

"Beautiful?"

"Yeah Les?" Her voice was muffled from her head being buried in my chest.

"Beautiful, you don't believe them, right?" I begged, my heart shattering at the thought of my Beautiful thinking of herself the way those effing asshats thought of her. "Please tell me you don't really agree with what they told you?"

She hesitated long enough to give me her answer.

"Beautiful…" I trailed off, aghast in the knowledge that the beautiful angel in my arms thought of herself like that.

"They weren't wrong, Les," she whispered in a tortured voice. I felt wetness seep into my t-shirt. Before I could tell her how wrong she was, a voice intoned from behind us.

"Babe."

Beautiful looked scared- almost terrified- as she met my cousin's face. A look passed between the two and a flash of something passed through Ranger's eyes.

"Santos, Brown, Tank, Hector, stay here," he ordered finally. "Babe, come with me to my bedroom, please. We need to talk."

###

**A/N: Okay, I know it's cruel to leave it there! On the bright side, the next chapter will have a laugh and Ranger and Steph's "Talk"…cue the dramatic music, dum dum duuumm! Read and review; they make me write faster! Hope you enjoyed! –JazMitch**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't have a beta, so excuse my mistakes! Please mind the Spanish…I have a strained relationship with my document's translator!**

**Dedicated to Jay; Partner in crime, best friend, sister. You always believed in me, no matter what. You're the best! Love ya!**

**Also dedicated to Chessi 66. You motivated me beyond words in my quest to write this story, and your words of encouragement mean more than I can ever describe! This one's for you!**

**###**

**WARNING: Implied rape and slightly offensive language.**

**###**

RPOV

By the time my Babe finished her story, the beast inside me was positively roaring for retribution. It took every ounce of willpower not to shatter every breakable thing in my apartment and proceed to hunt that SOB down, torture him for days and finally rip his heart from his chest.

When she announced that she intended on staying with him until she could save her friends, I barely restrained the growl that was rippling through my chest. Good thing, because my men's very vocal stance against putting her in danger had scared her. I hated seeing her flinch in fear at a place she always felt secure in; wince at the sound of the men she had come to treat as her own brothers. I knew she hated it too, hated thinking that she was hurting us, but we knew the reaction was purely from the beating she took.

I forced my blank face down, knowing that she would misconstrue the rage in my eyes to be directed at her. I made my voice calm as she tried to insist that this wasn't up for discussion. As usual, Steph was thinking only about the other people, resigning herself to pain and danger in exchange for protecting the people she loved. With a jolt, I realised that that list included Rangemen. I knew that she was doing this to protect my company and my men from getting framed as much as protecting her friends from getting hurt. I was deeply humbled, awed and very in love in equal measure.

"Beautiful, please," Santos pleaded with her. "We can find another way…"

"Not in time, Les," she denied sadly. She stood straighter and I could tell she was trying to feel stronger. "I can handle whatever he does to me. It won't be for too long, just until I find out who he can harm and how."

I slipped my blank face back into place and said, "No."

My voice was clipped, due to trying to hold in my rage, but my gut clenched when Babe's face twisted in pain as she registered my blank face. I winced inwardly when I realised now as the most inopportune time to be hiding my emotions from her, but I couldn't risk scaring her with my anger. "We are not going to send you in there."

She steeled herself, and on her face was a mixture of resolve and what looked to be self-hatred. "Yes, you are," she said adamantly. "This is the only way to make sure no one else gets hurt. I am going to do this. All I need to know from you'll is whether you'll have my back, or whether I'm going in alone."

She was immediately surrounded with assurances that the men would have her back. I was grateful on the one hand, that they would so willingly support her, and I was livid on the other; why the hell were they agreeing to this ridiculous notion of putting her back into hell? Also, since when did badasses cave so easily?

Cal mentioned getting to exact Rangeman style punishment on the SOB, and I was surprised when Steph agreed. She was the single softest person I knew, in terms of harming other people, so what did it say about that night that she was willing to give us free reign with someone she used to care about? How badly was she hurt, really? What had happened? And had he hurt her in any other way?

"I have a question, Little Girl," Tank's voice interrupted my morbid thoughts. "Why did you ask us up here? Why make that announcement in front of everyone, only to tell us now that it was a lie?"

"That's the next problem," she flinched. "Rangeman has a traitor. Morelli has an inside informant. And it's someone from the building."

With that, my legendary control snapped. The mere thought of one of my own men betraying me was maddening enough; couple it with the fact that my Babe had suffered the consequences of this, and my temper went through the roof.

I turned on my heel and went into the kitchen, not wanting Steph to see me like this. I walked to the first breakable thing I saw- the table- and flipped it over, feeling the monster inside me rear in anticipation with the resultant crash. I became aware of Tank behind me only when he gripped my upper arm. In a flash, I twisted my body and grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm, then dropped low and swept his feet out from under him, pinning him down to the floor in a few seconds flat. I held on for a second before letting him go, feeling a smidgen of remorse for letting my best friend take the brunt of my anger when I knew it should be the cop writhing under my boot. He got up and dusted off.

"Man, I know you're mad," he said, as he was getting up, "we all are. But right in the next room, my Little Girl is paralysed with fear at the crash you just caused and she needs someone to make her feel safe right now. Santos can try, but she needs you, Ranger," he levelled with me. I nodded once, pushing down the self-disgust pouring through me- Steph had been brutally assaulted by people she trusted; how was hearing me destroy something going to impact the trust she has in me and the comfort she finds in my arms?

I walked back into the room, seeking out my Babe, and pain sliced my insides when I saw how terrified she looked.

"Please tell me you don't really agree with what they told you?" Santos was saying. Rage reared in me again as I remembered what she told us had been said to her by Morelli and her _perra_ of a mother.

She hesitated long enough to answer the question, sending another punch to my gut. I thought I might hurl before the day was over.

"Beautiful…" Santos trailed off, horrified.

"They weren't wrong, Les," she whispered in a tortured voice. Desperation barrelled into me; I knew that this part of her pain was purely my fault, and I couldn't believe I had allowed her to think that of herself; couldn't believe I was the cause of her believing that; couldn't believe that I could ever have hurt her.

"Babe." I interrupted, unable to say anything more. She met my eyes with terror on her face. My stomach rolled as I realised that the fear on her face was the fear of a woman who had her heart broken too many times before and was terrified of it happening again.

"Santos, Brown, Tank, Hector, stay here," I ordered gruffly. "Babe, come with me to my bedroom, please. We need to talk."

I saw her struggle internally and almost sighed in relief when she nodded once and walked to my room. I caught warning looks from Hector, Santos, Brown and Tank that promised pain if I messed this up. I ignored them and followed Steph, closing the door behind us, organising my thoughts. As soon as I faced her, I grabbed her wrist and jerked her into me. She tensed for a fraction of a second, and then melted into my chest. I clutched her to me in a desperate embrace, my heart breaking when I felt my shirt become damp with her silent tears. I stroked her hair and though I knew I was crushing her a little, I couldn't seem to let her go. I was afraid that, if I did, I might lose her.

"Shh, querida, it's okay," I murmured, trying to comfort her as she sobbed in my arms. Her tears were my undoing and in a torrent of Spanish, all my feelings came out in a slew of words. "Lo siento, carino. Es culpa mia…lamento no habértelo dicho antes pero te amo. Tu eres mi Corazon y mi alma. Babe, por favor…por favor no vuelvas nunca dejar a mis brazos otra vez. Nada te va a pasar, lo juro. Lo siento, mi amor…lo siento." (I'm sorry, darling. This is all my fault…I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, but I love you. You are my heart, my soul. Babe, please…please don't ever, ever leave my arms again. Nothing will ever happen to you, I swear. I'm sorry, my love…I'm so sorry.)

She slowly quieted to a soft sniffle. She tried to pull away but I kept her in the circle of my arms.

"I'm sorry I messed your shirt," she mumbled, looking down.

"Querida," I chuckled softly, putting a finger under her chin to coax her face up, "I couldn't care less about the shirt. In fact, any day where I get to take off my shirt in front of you has the potential to be a _very_ good day," I winked at her, giving her a wolf grin. That comment earned me a small giggle. I led her to the bed and sat down on the edge, pulling her on to my lap. She snuggled into my chest and I wrapped both my arms around her protectively.

After a few minutes, she pulled away just enough to look at me.

"I have to do this, Ranger," she said softly. Fear and frustration tainted the calm I had obtained from having her in my arms.

"No, babe," I disagreed. "We can find another way to do this, just give us some time…"

"We don't have time, Ranger!" she retorted. "I will not put my family and friends at risk!"

"So you would sooner put your life in jeopardy than take a chance?" I asked heatedly.

"Yes!" she said defiantly, sticking out her chin. "Every time!"

"I wouldn't!" I growled. "I can't..." I took a deep breath before trying to complete my sentence. "I cannot let you walk away from me into a situation where your life may be in danger, Babe. I can't do that. Please don't make me."

"Then please don't make me do this without you," she begged, tears filling her big, cerulean eyes once more. "I have to do this Ranger. I just have to."

"No, you don't," I tried to argue.

"Yes Ranger," she interrupted me with finality. "I do. Now, it's your call. Can you…_will_ you still save me when this is all over, when I have the information I need?"

"I'll always save you, Babe," I replied immediately, unease assaulting my stomach. I cursed inwardly as I met Steph's determined eyes. With the grace of a child, I conceded. "But we do this my way," I grumbled, holding her a fraction tighter, my fears coming back in full force. She smiled at me, gratitude and warmth on her face. She leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"No price, Babe," I nuzzled her neck. "Babe?"

"Mm?"

"Will you answer some questions for me? Honestly?"

"Always, Ranger," she glanced at me, startled. I took a deep breath.

It was time to bare my heart…could I?

"Ok," I took a moment to organise my questions. "Babe, on that night when you walked home after the distraction job…"

"Yeah?" she prompted me, indicating that she remembered the night in question.

"What did you mean when you said that you left "for the obvious reasons"?" I asked curiously.

"Well," she winced. "I promised not to lie…" she steeled herself, "so by "obvious reasons", I meant…well, look at me. I'm plain, nothing extraordinary, and I'm practically a walking disaster. I can't think of any reason why you'll would want me to be around, so I left because, for these obvious reasons, I didn't want to stick around and embarrass you guys, which I probably would have ended up doing."

"Babe…" I trailed off, stunned. How did I manage to make the single most beautiful woman I had ever seen think of herself as plain? As ordinary? How did I let her believe she could ever do anything like embarrass us? Hadn't she believed me every time I told her I was proud of her? I took her face in my hands. "I don't ever want to hear you refer to yourself like that again," I said firmly. "You are the most beautiful, gorgeous, fun, smart, intuitive, resourceful, determined, caring, sexiest woman I have ever met. You're amazing, Babe, and we all see it. Hell, the guys have taken to fighting each other for Bombshell Duty! Every guy here loves you, and loves having you around and no matter how much it annoys me," I chuckled, "I want you to know that."

"Thanks, Ranger," she said, an incomprehensible look coming over her face. I tried to see her heart, tried to see whether she believed me, but for the first time, I couldn't.

"And, Babe, your mom and Morelli are truly the scum of the earth," I bit out. "I'm sorry, but they are. Everything they said is nothing more than a bunch of crap and I don't ever want to hear that you believed them, even for a minute."

"Says the guy who only wanted me to be his bed buddy," she mumbled. Horror slammed into me and I felt weak; I really was the only one who convinced her she wasn't good enough.

"Babe." My horrified tone and my face contorted in pain told her that she had said that out loud. She clapped a hand to her mouth, looking at me in remorse.

"No," she moaned, smoothing my creased forehead with her fingers. "Ranger I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say that aloud…God, I'm such a screw-up…crap, Ranger, I'm sorry, please don't be sad…"

She jumped off my lap and began to pace. "I'm so sorry, Ranger," she whispered again.

"No, Babe," I interrupted her, tortured. I got up and tried to stop her pacing. "I'm sorry…"

Before I could tell her how sorry I was, and how much I loved her and what an idiot I was, someone knocked on the door. I growled in frustration.

"Ranger?" Santos called out. "We need to get this moving. If we have a mole, he'll be reporting to Morelli how long Beautiful spent up here."

I looked at my babe, whose face was now stricken with terror. I made a split second decision. Opening the door, I pulled Steph back into the room, looping my arm around her waist.

Our talk would have to wait.

###

Hector POV

When el Jefe came out holding mi Angelita to him, a small part of my rage towards him subsided. I really didn't want to kill him, as he had given me a second chance at life with Rangeman, but I would if he had hurt my sister again.

Satisfied that I didn't have to kill Ranger, I now focussed my rage on that _pendejo_ of a cop. How dare he lay a single finger on mi angelita? Mia hermana? (My little angel. My sister.) I went back to plotting various forms of torture I could use on him. He would suffer greatly for inflicting pain on Angelita.

"Bobby." Ranger said as he walked Angelita to the couch. Without needing to be told, Brown grabbed his medical bag and sat next to her. She gave him a wordless hug, which he returned, and then she pulled off her top. Just as it had the first time, the sight of her beautiful skin marred with bruises incited a fierce burst of red hot anger in me, and I knew it had the same effect on the other men in the room. Santos started shaking slightly again, Ranger was menacingly, deathly quiet and Brown clenched his teeth, trying to focus on the task at hand. He taped up broken ribs, cleaned deep cuts and treated bruises and abrasions. He poked around her upper body and found that she had a fractured collar bone and possibly a cracked scapula. With each revelation, my rage increased.

"Bomber…" he started off uneasily. "Sweetheart, you have some really extensive injuries. I don't even know how you're carrying on right now. Honey, there's only so much I can do; we need to get you to a hospital, perform an MRI, see how much damage was done internally…"

"No Bobby," she said immediately. "No hospitals."

"But Honey…"

"No Bobby," she pleaded. "Just give me something for the pain if there's something you can't fix. I'll go to the hospital, but only once this is all over."

Brown looked frustrated, but after a moment, he agreed.

"Is there any injury below your waist, Sweetheart?" he asked, not expecting the answer to be a yes.

When she hid her face in her hands, trembling slightly, alarm bells went off in our heads. Dread and fury mixed in a potent ball inside me.

"Sweetheart?" Bobby said gently.

"Yes," she whispered.

"There is an injury?" he asked for confirmation. I held my breath.

She nodded mutely.

Rage built in me and I knew I wasn't the only one. Looking into the eyes of Santos and Ranger, I saw the monsters inside them, each one seeking out vengeance.

"Bomber, honey…" Brown trailed off, looking sickened and enraged.

"Babe?" Ranger said raggedly. "Did he…"

"He tried…" she whispered in a tortured voice. "He didn't manage to finish but…" she started to sob once more. In unison, Ranger, Santos, Brown and I moved toward her, all of us putting aside our blood thirst for a time when she wasn't near us. Ranger pulled her onto his lap, Santos kneeled in front of her with his forehead against her knees, Brown crouched in front of Ranger, holding her hand and stroking her arms and I sat next to Ranger, stroking her hair. She swallowed her cries and tried to pull herself together.

"I'm sorry, guys," she apologised thickly. "It's just…"

"Angelita," I interrupted her. She turned her head to look at me and something inside me shattered at the broken look in her eyes. I kissed her temple. "No be sorry. Hermana."

"Hermano, Hector," she sent me a watery smile, remembering our conversation all that time ago. She pulled away from Ranger enough to give me a hug then she proceeded to hug Santos and Brown before huddling into Ranger's chest once more.

"Lo siento, querida," he breathed as he held her. "I'm so sorry."

She shuddered a breath and straightened, wiping her eyes and tensing her muscles to bear the pain.

"I have to go," she said shakily. "Joe will be wondering where I am."

Without a word, Ranger pulled her close and escorted her out. I was about to leave after them when Santos stopped me. I raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"_Hermano yo venganza_?" he asked. (Revenge on our brother?) I nodded once.

So maybe there was a way to get back at el jefe without killing him…

###

Steph POV

As we walked down, Ranger kept his arm tight around me. I revelled in the comfort and safety his arms always offered me while simultaneously grimacing at the prospect of leaving them; Joe would surely hear about all of this and I would be in for a beating and a half at his place. I kept quiet on the way down, replaying the day in my head. There were highs and lows; it was sheer torture, having to hurt my brothers over and over, but on the plus side, they'd agreed to help me. They were all so sweet; I really didn't deserve them. Telling them about Morelli trying to rape me was excruciating, but they hadn't pushed, thankfully, and I felt safer than I had in months with all of them around me like that. More than anything, the things Ranger had said to me played most on my mind. He thought I was beautiful, sexy, fun, smart, intuitive…and he called me querida a lot today. I knew enough to know that meant "Darling", but I didn't know enough to say what that meant. Was Ranger considering me as a girlfriend? But why would he? I'm nothing next to him. He could have anyone in the world…why on earth would he want me?

"I smell smoke, Babe," his voice penetrated my thoughts.

"Lots to think about, Batman," I smiled wearily at him. "When are we going to meet to discuss how we're going to do this?"

"I'll ask Hector to talk to some of his contacts on Stark," he replied. "Create a distraction, get Morelli called out. That way, we can meet you without you worrying about him coming back."

"We can't meet at the house," I said immediately. "The Burg Grapevine would know about it in seconds and Joe would be on to us. Let's meet at the old warehouse, just outside of Trenton. Make sure to disable the trackers you guys have," I added.

"Quarter after 5, Babe," Ranger responded. "We'll be there."

When we got off in the parking garage, Ranger led me to my beat up little Chevy. He pulled me to the door, but instead of opening it for me, he pushed me up against it and leaned down to crash his lips to mine. I responded immediately, throwing my arms around his neck and holding him tightly. He traced my bottom lip with his tongue and I eagerly opened my mouth, granting him access, deepening the kiss. He nibbled my lip then sucked on it, lowering his hands to cup my ass and pull me flush against him. I moaned into the kiss and he transferred his lips onto my neck, licking a trail of liquid fire down the column of my throat. I ground myself against him and gasped when he slipped his hands under my jeans and squeezed my ass. He kissed his way back up to my ear, taking my earlobe between his teeth and sucking insistently on it. When I rubbed myself against him a second time, he jerked back, putting some space between our fevered bodies and moving his hands back to my waist.

"I don't know that I can let you leave, Babe," he growled, looking at me with eyes turned black by a haze of lust. "And this is not helping my argument."

"I have to go, Batman," I whispered, fighting back tears now, for the millionth time today. Instantly, his arms were around me, holding me close to him.

"I'm so sorry, querida," he murmured, pained. A jolt shocked through me once more at the endearment. "Won't you please just let me deal with him my way?"

Knowing that his way could mean jail time for him, I shook my head. "No Ranger. He could have a fall-back plan if that happens. Besides, you're too hot for prison stripes."

"Babe, for me to get convicted, they'd have to find a body," he said darkly. "And I don't intend on leaving enough to be identified."

"In due time, Batman," I said lightly, trying to get him out of the dark place his thoughts were taking him to.

I slipped into my car and Ranger took my hand, pressing it against his cheek.

"Be careful, Babe," he breathed, eyes smouldering with an emotion I couldn't identify.

"You too," I whispered, leaving before I could find a reason to stay.

On the way home, my phone beeped. It was from Les; he had sent me a picture. I opened it, curious, and the sight that met me had me in helpless stitches of laughter.

The picture was of- what used to be- Ranger's living room. Now, the couch was upside down, the table was balanced against the windows and the TV balanced precariously on top of the cabinet. Where the TV used to be, now stood an A3 poster of Dora the Explorer and several strands of shredded tissue paper that hung from the top, making it look like a shrine to the cartoon character. The walls were plastered with pictures of various cartoons like Minnie Mouse, Strawberry Shortcake, Barbie, Barney and even Daisy Duck. Underneath the picture was the text:

_Hey Beautiful! Finally, a prank we could pull in his own apartment! Thanks, Beautiful; this one's for you! I'll probably get mat time, and if I'm missing when you come here next, send some Boston Crèmes to Somalia for me, okay? _

_Hope I made you laugh, Beautiful! Love u! _

–_Les_

My laughter died down eventually, and a few tears leaked from my eyes. it was so typically sweet of Les to do something to make me laugh after the kind of day I had. I really hoped Ranger wouldn't ship him to some third world country.

Before I could put my phone away, it chirped with another message. This one didn't make me smile.

_Hey Cupcake._

_I'll be home late tonight. Called out to Stark- there was some riot. There better be food on the table, and you'd best prepare yourself to please tonight; the boys need some TLC._

I swallowed the bile that rose at the back of my throat. On the one hand, I was impressed; Hector moved fast! On the other hand, I had to find a way to make sure that the "boys" wouldn't be anywhere near me tonight. A slow smile crept on to my face as I connected with my inner Les…

Oh, yes. "The boys" would be very far away from me tonight.

###

Unknown POV

I could hardly contain my glee when the little slut announced her retirement and impending nuptials. I watched on the screen in the control room as chaos broke out around her. I relished in her tears and their pain. Yes…the whore had learnt where her place was. She had been tamed, like a subservient little whore should be.

I watched as the almighty Ranger carried his little whore to his office. They were in there long enough for it to have been a quick roll in the hay. I was about to phone my partner to let him know what his "Cupcake" was up to when she walked out with Bobby, clothes intact, lips not swollen.

Off the hook.

For now.

She was up on the 7th floor extraordinarily long, and I knew this time that she was definitely putting out for all the men. I tried for my contact but his phone went to voicemail. When she did come out, she still looked as though she hadn't done any slutting around so I decided to give her the benefit of a doubt once more.

When she and Manoso started going at it in the garage, a smirk crawled over my face.

Oh ya.

The little slut was going to suffer tonight.

And if she suffered, the Mighty Ranger would suffer too.

And when Ranger and the slut suffered, I was a happy, happy man.

###

**A/N: Please don't hate me! Okay, so I decided to put off the talk just a little bit…have an excellent scene planned and I needed the talk to be in a different place! When it does comes, I promise it will have been so worth the wait ;) I also hope that Ranger redeemed himself with you guys as he was such a sweetheart in this chapter!  
Also, I have put in a slight laugh here and there…going to try and vamp up the fun and laughs with other things in the next chapter, so don't hate me! (Margaret!) Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed and/or favourited this story! It means the world to me and I hope I can continue to enrapture you guys with what is still to come! Enjoy! Drop me a review please! You really should! Go on, do it! -JazMitch**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Gosh, do I have to do this every chapter? Seriously. It wasn't mine for the past 6 chapters; what makes anyone think that anything has changed? Sheesh.**

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter is very sweet and may seem OOC for some, but they needed this, especially after nearly losing Steph! Also, I used creative license here…there is no such place as Sweet Hearts Hall in Newark, I just didn't get a chance to research halls there!**

**To Jay, as always, you make me believe in me.**

**To Chessi 66, you motivate me constantly, and know that it's your motivation, encouragement and awesome-ness that keeps me going most times!**

**To Margaret, thank you for pushing me at the beginning of all of this. And for always giving me great input!**

**Finally, to Kristina…since you're a guest, I couldn't reply to you, but thanks so much for the encouraging review! Can't mind the haters when I have wonderful reviewers like you! **

**This is for you'll!**

###

Ram POV

I left Ranger's apartment with the reluctance of a 6 year old going to the dentist.

Every part in me screamed at me not to leave her; never to leave her; but I knew Santos was right. Whoever the mole was, he would be reporting to Morelli about this and if he found out we were all up here, they could piece together that Steph had found a way to let us know what was going on, and then the shit would really hit the fan.

There weren't enough vulgar words in the English language to possibly come close to describing how livid I was. I was mad at myself, because I should have protected her. That day that she went to the Tasty Pastry? I was supposed to go with her. We had gone to the bank just before that and I flirted with one of the tellers. She was on her lunch break, so Bomber told me to take her out, and that she would go herself and then head back home or to Rangeman. Had I kept my damn hormones under control, she would have had back-up when she needed it. That cop would never have touched her.

I was also mad at Ranger; we all were. Bomber's been in love with him since day one, and he's loved her just as long. She called it quits with the cop to see if things would go anywhere with the boss and her, and I knew that he hadn't done a lot differently with her. He was making her feel like some cheap entertainment and I resented it. She was so damn beautiful, both inside and out. There was no one in the world like her. How dare he treat her like one of his common bed buddies? Like she was just one of his casual rolls in the hay? If he hadn't, Steph would be happy right now, like she deserved to be.

And then, of course, the majority of my rage was directed at the _cop _and Bomber's most pathetic excuse of a mother.

I honestly had no idea what made them think they could mess with the beating heart of Rangemen and get away with it alive. I was going to cheerfully beat them to death the next chance I had.

When the elevator stopped on the fifth floor, I hesitated then let it close, redirecting my path to the gym. I was so filled with white hot rage that I knew I wouldn't get any productive work done. I needed to hit something, and since I couldn't get to the cop yet, I would have to settle for a bag.

In next to no time, I was dripping sweat, dressed in only my workout shorts, with bloody knuckles. I had foregone the gloves after a half hour of punching it, needing the physical contact to assuage my rage. I came out of my violent frenzy when I noticed Santos, Brown, Tank, Hector, Manny, Cal and Hal come in. They nodded at me.

"We had the same idea," Santos said tightly. They immediately paired up; Cal and Tank took one ring, Santos and Brown another, Manny and Hector one, leaving Hal and I to go at it. I lashed out in a flurry of jabs and kicks. Hal countered with a series of punches and parries. Eventually, I pinned him down, taking his legs out from under him after letting him get close enough with a punch to the sternum. We were both winded, and shook hands, leaving to watch the rest. Tank had pinned Cal, Hector had pinned Manny and Lester and Bobby were still head to head. If you looked close enough though, you would see that Santos had barely broken out in a sweat and was basically teasing Bobby. I felt a stitch of concern; we all knew that both Lester and Ranger had something, some deadly kind of thing inside them…it was what brought them out of the most FUBAR missions in the world. It was something that was only seen in them in battle, or when one of their own was being threatened. I saw it in both of them with Bombshell today, understandably so. Lester was in control of the beast right now, but I was still worried about Bobby. I knew he would lose this fight… I just hoped it was all he would lose. In the back of my mind, I realised we would have to keep Lester and Ranger from sparring for the time being…or one of them would end up dead, and the other, paralysed for life, and I wasn't sure I was open to the idea of burying Lester and dealing with a cranky, immobile Ranger.

Lester seemed to be getting bored, so with a side sweep that was so fast, you would've missed it if you blinked, he pinned Bobby to the mat. Bobby clapped his shoulder twice in surrender and they came to join us, just as Ranger walked into the gym.

Oh, shit.

"Santos." Ranger's voice was menacingly quiet. It was less of a summon to the mats, for which I was grateful, and more of a silent 'What the HELL?', for which I was confused. What had he done this time?

"You deserved worse, cuz," Lester replied evenly. "Want to take this to the mats? Because I sent a picture of it to Beautiful, and I know it will have made her laugh, so I would do it all over again if that was what it took to make her feel better. I have no qualms meeting you on the mats for this one."

Ranger looked at him contemplatively for a moment, and I wondered what the hell was going on. Bobby caught my look of confusion and sent me a look as if to say "Drop it man, I'll tell you all about it later."

I nodded my assent and watched as the tension between them seemed to mount. Then Ranger held out his fist for Lester to bump. I swallowed my shock, battling not to splutter when Ranger said in an even tone,

"Only because it's her, Santos. But thank you."

Lester nodded and Ranger looked to Tank. Jerking his head towards the mats, he threw his shirt off and walked towards the ring. I was glad he chose Tank; he wouldn't win, no, but he was big enough to be a small problem.

They started off quick, a blindingly fast procession of limps, Ranger seeming to anticipate every one of Tank's moves. We stood enraptured at the beauty of the fight before us. Like his cousin, Ranger didn't fatigue, showing no signs of sweat and not slowing down a second. His muscles were coiled tight, showing us that he too was playing with his prey before he chose to strike. When he did, Tank's face saw the bottom of the mat faster than I could realise Ranger had had enough.

"We have to meet Stephanie tonight, men," Ranger told us as they joined us, Tank limping slightly behind him. "Hector," he nodded at the former gang banger, "_gracias, hombre. Para el disturbo el Stark._" (Thanks, man. For the riot on Stark.)

"_No hay problema, jefe."_ (No problem, Boss.)

"Quarter after 5, we're meeting her at the abandoned warehouse just off Trenton," he continued. "I know I don't need to tell you how important discretion is with this, gentlemen. We need to fix this; Stephanie is suffering because one of our own decided to betray us. We need to make this right, make her safe again. I don't care what it takes. Be careful around all our contract workers and new hires; hell even our old hands. And by any means necessary, ditch your trackers tonight. Not too obviously, or he will catch on and then we'll have a problem. Understood?"

"Hooah," we barked in unison. Christ, I felt like I was back at the army.

Each of us in our own worlds, we headed to the showers. As I stood under the hot spray, I let my muscles relax. With the calming down of my almost palpable rage, came the crushing grief that the girl I had come to love as a little sister had to endure all that pain. I leaned heavily against the tiled wall, picking my face up to the spray. As I let the grief run its course, my mind began to wonder. I went back to the moment Steph and I had really become friends…

###FLASHBACK###

"_Another," I slurred, slamming the empty tequila shot glass on the bar. The bartender looked at me dubiously, evidently wondering whether he could replace my glass and keep his conscience clean._

"_Listen, buddy, don't you think…" he tried to reason with me._

"_If I wanted to think, would I be in here, pushing down tequila shots?" I asked annoyed. _

"_Fine, suit yourself," he shrugged, the devil on his shoulder winning out over the angel of his conscience. I was about to down my several hundredth shot for the night when a small, firm hand gripped my upper arm. I put the glass down, intending to level a glare at the person stopping me from having my booze. _

_Stephanie._

"_Enough, Ram," she said softly, coaxing my hand down. I tensed in anger; who did she think she was? We weren't really even friends; we had never properly got acquainted, just an introduction when Cal and I gave her a ride._

"_Leave me alone," I growled. _

"_No," she fired back. I was a little stunned; I was a pretty intimidating guy, and this tiny little slip of a woman was standing up to me. Her guts scored her an inward plus in my mind._

"_Leave, Stephanie," I tried again. "I am not your problem. What are you even doing here?"_

"_I came with Connie and Lula, but I think that you need me more than I need a girl's night out," she explained assertively. She began trying to pull me out of the chair. I resisted, jerking my arm out of hers. _

"_I do NOT need you," I snarled, knowing my tone would probably get me into trouble with the boss, but not really caring. I downed the shot before she could grab my arm._

"_Sure, okay," she agreed, to pacify me. Taking out some bills, she threw them on to the bar next to my empty glass. I started to protest again but she waved me off impatiently. "I got you covered, Ram."_

_She proceeded to grab my arm and try to drag me out as I grumbled incoherently. Suddenly, I felt very weary, and I followed her the rest of the way to her old Honda. I got in without complaint, and she started the car, buckled us both up and drove. I was silent, both chagrined at being found like this, and also still too trashed to really care. When she pulled up in front of her apartment, I began to argue once more._

"_No, Ram," she cut me off. "You're sloshed. You live at Rangemen and Tank will kick your ass for getting drunk. Then he will report it to Ranger when he comes back from being In the Wind, who will undoubtedly kick your ass again before firing you or shipping you off to Tanzania. You will stay here tonight and you will not argue with me about it. Are we clear?"_

_Feeling thoroughly put in my place, I nodded. We went up to her apartment and she made up the couch for me. In that moment, the tequila made a mean comeback. _

_While getting re-acquainted with the Toilet Gods, I felt something cool press against the nape of my neck. I barely took a minute to wonder why this girl who hardly knew me was taking care of me like this, when I hurled again. When my stomach was relatively empty of the alcohol I had consumed, she continued to press the cloth against my heated skin, until I took it from her, gratitude filling me. I wondered why, again, but chose to just be glad of the kind hand she was extending._

"_Thank you," I said softly._

"_Mouthwash is on the sink, sweetie," she replied with a smile. When I got out of the bathroom, I flopped down on to her couch and was out in minutes. _

_###_

_I awoke the next day when the sun was shining. I heard the door open and reached for my gun before I realised it wasn't there. _

"_Shit!" I cursed, trying to spot a weapon, when Stephanie came into view._

"_I went to get you The Cure," she explained, brandishing a bag in front of me, completely oblivious to my distress. "I figure you might have an army of Spaniards doing the salsa up in your head right now."_

_Despite myself, I chuckled. _

"_Thank you," I grinned, wolfing down the fries and gulping down the Coke. I felt halfway human again, and looked at her in interest._

"_What?" she asked, touching her face self-consciously. _

"_Nothing," I denied, shaking my head and eating another few fries._

"_Ram?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_What happened?" she asked hesitantly. "You don't need to tell me, I'm just curious."_

_I contemplated a moment before deciding to tell her; I mean, she had taken care of me when I wasn't her problem. I owed her some answers._

"_I was dating this girl, Tanya," I explained. "I found out yesterday that she was cheating on me. We broke up."_

"_Ram, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, throwing her arms around me. If I was shocked before, I could fall over with a sneeze now. I returned her hug, trying to get used to being on the receiving end of compassion for the first time after long years. _

"_I was supposed to take her with me to my brother's wedding tonight," I explained. "He's older than me and he used to mock me a lot as a kid. I told him how I met this beautiful girl who was a doctor and he refused to believe me. Said he'd believe it when he saw it. Now, he's going to think I lied to him and I'll never the end of it."_

"_Oh, Ram, Sweetheart," she whispered, pulling me into another hug. "I'm really sorry. Your brother seems to be an ass, and that stupid Tanya is an idiot, she has no idea what she' missing out on." She pulled back and kissed my cheek. _

"_Thank you, Stephanie," I smiled, feeling my heart lighten in the show of friendship. _

"_Call me Steph," she grinned._

"_Ok," I retuned the grin and got up. "I have to go now. The wedding is in Newark, my parents live there, and I need to get going."_

"_They're having the reception in the Sweet Hearts Hall?" she asked._

"_Yeah," I grimaced. "I'm sure looking forward to that."_

_###_

_The wedding was beautiful and I had managed to avoid my brother until now. Unfortunately, the reception was for socialising so I could bet that I would have to face him soon._

_Sure enough, a clap to my back had me turning around in anticipation._

"_Little brother!" he boomed._

"_Hey Paul," I smiled at him, shaking his hand. "Congrats, man. I'm happy for you."_

"_Thanks, little man," he grinned. "Now, where's the hot little doctor you were telling me about? I didn't see her at the ceremony." He smirked._

"_Well…" I started, only to be interrupted again._

"_She's right here!"_

_I turned around to see Steph walking towards me, looking drop dead gorgeous in a figure hugging, one-shouldered, empire waist blue dress that made her eyes pop and hit just above her knee, with matching blue strappy stilettos and silver jewellery complete with a silver clutch. In short, she was possibly the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She came right up to me, ignoring my paralysed shock, and kissed me full on the mouth. She pulled back and winked at me. I swallowed twice, wondering what the hell was going on. She must have seen my confusion so, slipping her arms around my waist, she turned to face my brother._

"_Hi, I'm Tanya, nice to meet you. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to the ceremony, but I was called out. There was an emergency; a man was out hunting and he stepped into a bear trap. It was really messy, just so much blood all over, you know? We tried to reattach his leg, but really, it was like trying to stitch together two pieces of a napkin that was soaked in water. His skin was all frayed and torn so we had to just chop the whole thing off," she rambled, making the slicing motion in the air. I tried to hold in my guffaw of laughter at the utter disbelief and nausea on Paul's face. "It's really a pity I missed it," she finished with a smile, "but if I had asked him to wait in theatre for me, he probably would have contracted an infection on the operating table and his whole leg would have begun to rot, just like old fruit, except it's his leg, you know? And we would have to slice off the whole thing, maybe even his more…desirable, man-parts to make sure he didn't die." She shrugged and I barely held in my laughter now. My brother looked positively sickened. _

"_It's an absolute pleasure, Tanya," my brother choked out. "If you two will just excuse me…" he took off in the direction of the bathroom. I burst out laughing, holding my sides as Steph giggled. _

"_Hey, Ram," she got out between giggles. _

"_What are you doing, Steph?" I asked with a chuckle. _

"_Helping you with your brother," she shrugged. "I hope I'm not being intrusive."_

"_No, no," I guffawed. "Paul had that one coming! Want to dance?"_

"_Sure," she smiled brilliantly at me. I led her to the dance floor and we swayed from side to side. "Ram, you shouldn't let your brother have this control over you," she told me. "You're such an amazing guy. You're strong and smart and sweet and honourable…and you need to see that instead of letting him cover your eyes with a blindfold."_

_I thought about what she said, and realised that she was right. If a girl like her could see me that way, why couldn't I?_

"_Tanya," Paul appeared at my shoulder. "May I cut in? How about a dance, sweetheart?"_

"_Don't call her that," I said evenly._

"_Chill out, bro, I'm a married man," Paul half smiled, looking at me strangely. _

"_No," I shook my head with a small scoff. "I mean, don't call her Tanya. That's not her name. Her name is Stephanie Plum."_

"_Ram?" Steph looked at me, as if questioning whether this was what I really wanted. I smiled at her, feeling clarity for the first time since I walked in on Tanya in bed with her ex. "Paul," I faced my brother. "Tanya cheated on me. I don't care what you think, I'm not lying. We broke up yesterday because I walked in on her with her ex. Ever since we were kids you always mocked and belittled me. You have to stop, bro. I love you, but I __**will **__kick your ass. We're grown men, man. __**I'm **__a grown man now, and I expect you to treat me like someone who has achieved a lot, because I have. I respect you, man, and I love you. I'd like for you to extend that courtesy to me." I turned away from my shell-shocked brother to Steph. She smiled warmly at me, then took a step closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. Kissing my cheek, she whispered,_

"_Good for you, Ram. I'm proud of you." She turned to my brother and said, "You should be very proud of your little brother, Paul. He saved so many lives in the army and he continues to do so. He's sweet and charming and honourable and deserving of more respect. I'm sorry to do this and say this on your wedding day, but unless you want to lose your little brother, I suggest you get your head out of your ass and see in him what the rest of the world sees."_

_She took my hand and tugged me to the open bar. _

"_I'm okay," I smiled at her before she could ask. "Really."_

"_I'm glad," she replied with a soft smile. We danced a few more songs then we both sat down with a cocktail. _

"_Little brother?" I heard Paul behind me. "Can we talk?" _

_I got up and walked outside, being sure to grab Steph's hand and pull her with me. As far as I was concerned, anything that needed to be said could now be said in front of her._

"_I'm so sorry, Bro," Paul said before I could say anything. "I never realized how much the teasing hurt you, and I really never realized it when the teasing became mocking. When we were kids, I loved that you looked up to me, and I know I said a lot of things that I shouldn't have. I just never thought of how belittling it could be. Of course I'm proud of you, man! So proud! You're a war hero, you've saved lives, risked your own life for people you don't even know day after day! I never thought to tell you, and that was wrong, but I am very, very proud of you, little brother. As for that skank of a doctor lady… I always believed you, bro, I just wanted to tease you about it. I realize that after so many years, it's just old and annoying. I can't believe she cheated…man, as soon as I'm back from this honeymoon, you and me, we're gonna hunt the asshole down and tear him to pieces. I think our honorary little spitfire here," he nodded at Steph with a chuckle and a wink, "will have no problem taking on the skank. I love you, man. I'm so sorry for ever making you doubt that." He pulled me into a hug, holding me there for a moment before releasing me with a clap to the back. Warmth flooded inside me; I had never gotten much praise form Paul growing up and, old as we were, I still looked up to him._

"_I love you, too, man," I grinned. "Thanks for saying that."_

"_I mean it, bro," he responded._

"_Aww!" Steph squealed, eyes bright with tears. "That's so sweet!"_

"_You spoke about cutting off a man's unmentionables without so much of a flinch, but you're crying because I told my little brother that I loved him?" Paul asked with a disbelieving smirk._

"_Oh, shut up," Steph sniffled. "That was just so sweet." I chuckled and pulled Steph into a hug. Paul pulled her away from me, crushing her to him for a second._

"_Thanks, honey," he said softly to her. "You made my brother see in himself what I've been blocking him from for years and did for me the same thing. You fixed something I didn't even know was faulty, before it could break completely, and we'll always be grateful for that. Consider yourself our honorary little sister from now on, okay?"_

"_It was a pleasure," Steph smiled. "I'm just so glad you'll worked things out. And I would be flattered to be an honorary member of the family."_

_He kissed her forehead and with another wolfish grin, he was gone. I couldn't put my gratitude into words, so I simply pulled Steph again to my chest. She hugged me and pulled back with a questioning look at me._

"_Thank you, Steph," I said simply, for the millionth time in two days. "Thank you."_

_Two words had never seemed so wholly inadequate. _

###END FLASHBACK###

I stepped out of the shower and changed quickly into cargoes, boots and a black Rangeman shirt.

I needed to make some calls…it was time to protect my honorary little sister. Care for her the way she cared for me.

###

Steph POV

I left the house at half past 4, having attempted to make dinner and left it in the warming oven. I tried to make meatloaf, with my own, personal, extra special ingredient added in.

I was equal parts scared, nervous and determined. Tough as I was trying to act, I was scared at what Joe might do to me. I was terrified that I would get so badly hurt that there would be permanent damage and I was worried he might get the opportunity to rape me, because he would try and it sure as hell wouldn't be consensual. I was nervous that my plan was going to backfire, and I would be putting all the people I love at risk. I was determined, because no-one messed with my loved ones and got away with it! I was taking Morelli down, as I promised him in Pinos all those months ago, and his fall from grace was going to be a damn spectacular one.

Rangeman SUVs were already parked there when I arrived. I knew instinctively that Ranger would have had the place checked out before I arrived.

As soon as my car switched off, Ranger was at my door. He pulled me out and crushed me to him, as though the few hours of separation had killed him. In all honesty, I thought the world was coming to an end when I had to leave him, but those feelings were for people who loved each other. Ranger didn't love…me?

My thoughts were pleasantly interrupted by the smouldering kiss he pressed to my lips.

"Babe." He whispered, pulling away from me. He scanned my body quickly. "No new injuries?"

"No," I mumbled. "Thank you, Ranger. For all of this. For helping me."

"No price Babe," he pressed a kiss to my jugular and then nuzzled my throat.

I smiled up at him then went around, hugging each of the men in turn, rubbing off Hector's teardrops and kissing Cal's flaming skull. They looked at me, waiting for me to start this.

"Thank you, guys, for taking time off to come here," I started. "Thank you for helping me. This is one big screw-up and I'm grateful for the help. I don't know how I'll ever thank you'll enough, but…"

"Stop, Beautiful," Les ordered. He came up to me and wrapped me in a protective hug, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "We once told you that you were our family. We meant that. And Beautiful? We protect our own. Remember?" I smiled brilliantly at him, thanking the stars for this group of wonderful men who would freeze hell over for me. How on this earth did I deserve them?

"Angel?" Cal stepped forward. "Before we start with the plan, we all have some things we wanted to say to you. Honey, you told us that you believed what Morelli and your all-screwed-in-the-head mother had to say. Do you trust them more than you trust us?"

"Christ, no!" I exclaimed. "How could you even ask me that, Cal?"

"If you trust us more, will you believe what we have to say?" he persisted.

"Yes, of course, Cal…where are you going with this?"

"Beautiful," Les stepped away from me. "We have some things we'd like to say to you."

With that, Les walked to the men. They lined up, facing me; Hector, Cal, Manny, Hal, Ram, Tank, Bobby, and Lester. Ranger came to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned back against his chest instinctively and waited in trepidation. Were they sick of how weak I was?

Hector stepped forward first.

"Angelita…Hermana. Long ago, I tell you, you are my angelita. My light, because I am dark. I mean it. Angelita brings light to a dark soul…_te quiero, hermanita. _I love you, my little sister. I protect you. _Perra es mama _and _pendejo _Morelli know nothing, Angelita."

Tears were already pooling in my eyes when Hector finished. Hector hardly ever spoke, unless we were alone, so this made it all the more meaningful to me.

"Gracias Hector," I smiled a wobbly smile at him as he came to hug me. "Te quiero, Hermano." I tried to imitate his pronunciation and he smiled warmly at my attempt.

"Angel." Cal stepped forward next. "You and I were always friends, but that day at the diner, you became a sister. You took on gossipers in a room full of people because they said something nasty about me," he elaborated for the sake of the others, I'm sure. "I'm a hardened Navy SEAL, honey, but still you protected me as though I needed it. It was the fact that you had my back that touched me most. Not many people have before, and I don't have many people I trust with my life, but you easily became one of them. I love you, Steph, and I'll always have your back the way you had mine. Anyone in your life who doesn't see how damn amazing you are, is not worth having around at all."

"Thank you, Cal," I whispered when he hugged me too. "I'll always have your back too."

Manny was next. "Wifey, you gave more a damn about me than some people I had known for years. When I got shot that day, you showed me more care and compassion and concern than I had seen or experienced in long years. I'll never be able to repay you for giving me a sense of family, but know that I'll always be in your corner. Love you, Wifey."

When he hugged me, I simply held on tight. I didn't know what to say to that, I just hoped he could feel my emotions through the gesture.

Hal hugged me before he spoke. "Bombshell, you stunned me with my own stun gun when I had just started at this job," he chuckled. I blushed and smiled.

"Sorry Hal," I said sheepishly.

"Don't be, Bomber," he grinned at me. "It was you doing that that brought me out of my slump, in a way. When the guys teased me, I retaliated, and I became friends with them in a way I never thought possible. Then, when my grandfather died, you showed me that _you_ were there for me too. You asked Ranger to give me time off before I even thought about it and came with me to his funeral. You stayed the whole night with me and my family, knowing I was close to him and just being there for me. No-one outside of my family had ever done something that sweet for me before, and I hardly even knew you. I know I may not joke around with you as much as the other guys, but it's not because I don't love you, Bomber. I do. You're the best."

By the time Ram stepped up, I was openly crying.

"Sweetheart, you bailed me out of trouble," he winked at me, "and went above and beyond what anyone would have done for me. You let me see myself in a way that I haven't, ever, and it made relationships in my family better because of it. I'll always owe you, and we meant it when we said you were to consider yourself our honorary sister. Hell, Paul doesn't even know the story and he wants in on whoever hurt you. Honey, we'll always be right here when you need us. We love you."

"Little Girl," Tank started now, "I don't know what could ever make you think of yourself as anything less than extraordinary. We all have so much to thank you for, above all the light that you bring to Rangeman. The light that you bring to my lug of a best friend's life," he jerked his head to Ranger with a shit eating grin. Ranger flipped Tank off but aimed a 1000 watt smile at me. "Little girl, you're our Bomber. Our Bombshell. You once helped me out, when I had problems with Lula, and you did it without expecting anything in return. Well, Bomber, you got something; you got my undying loyalty and friendship. I love you, Little Girl." He pulled me off my feet and I clung to him, my legs dangling, hiding my face in his neck.

Bobby put his arms around me and lowered me from Tank, keeping his arms around my shoulders while he spoke.

"Sweetheart, ever since day one, I've been patching you up from scrapes, bruises, broken bones, stab wounds, gunshot wounds…you name it. Hell, sometimes, I think of myself as your medic, rather than Rangeman's, because I am always going to heal you above and beyond everyone else. Bomber, knowing that I can take pain away from you is the most rewarding thing in my life, because if I can make someone as simply amazing as you hurt less, then God, I must be doing some good in this God-awful world. Honey, I may heal you physically, but what you don't know is that you healed me the minute I saw you. You healed my heart. I had patched you up from God-knows-what, and you grabbed me in a hug and told me that I was Godsend, because I could make people's pain go away. You didn't know, but it was at a time when I was wondering why I ever got into medicine. You reminded me, honey. I'll always heal you, Sweetheart. I'll always love you."

I sobbed now, as it was getting to be so much. How was it that I had had such an impact on these amazing men's lives? With the tears, I found that hearing this gave me hope. Like Bobby said, if I could make the bad stuff go away for them, then surely I must have been doing something in this world right? Surely I wasn't as much of a failure as everyone else thought?

"Beautiful."

My best friend needed only to say one word, and I was in his arms. He held me tight to him and breathed in deeply.

"Beautiful, when you told me that you thought your mom and the asshole cop was right, I swear I have never felt more horrified. I don't know where along the line you started to doubt how perfect you are, Steph, but I will continue to make sure you always see it. Beautiful…you know, you're the only woman in the whole world I call that. It's because it's the only word in the English language that comes remotely close to describing what I see when I look at you, inside and out. Your beauty isn't skin-deep; you have the most amazing soul, and it shines through making you just that much more beautiful, Beautiful," he cracked a smile at me. I tightened my arms around his middle. "You saved me from myself all that time ago, Beautiful. You saved me from a downward spiral that I may not have come back from. You lifted the weight of the world from my shoulders with a simple song, a piece of cake and hug and friendly ear. I may be the soldier, sweetheart, but you were the one to save me. You're my best friend, Steph. My family. I would say sister, but I was hoping for kissing cousins or something?" he wagged his eyebrows at me, licking his lips suggestively. I giggled through my tears and Ranger growled.

"Santos, don't make me have to kill you," he snarled. "Tia Maria would be so upset with me."

"Whatever, cuz," Les chuckled, surreptitiously holding me in front of him. "You know she would have picked me if I saw her first."

I giggled again then hit Lester's chest.

"Don't think so, Les," I teased. "What's better than a Cuban sex God? Besides, Ranger has better cars."

"Babe." Ranger looked at me, half amused, half exasperated.

"Ah," Les sighed dramatically, "and the Turbo wins the girl again. Oh, Fate, how you mock me so!"

"Les," I giggled, hitting his chest again, "I don't even know what you're saying now!"

"Beautiful," he sent a dazzling smile my way, green eyes shining with so much obvious love and adoration that tears streamed from my eyes again. "I'm saying that you're my little sister. I love you…so freaking much. I would do anything for you, always. And I'll _**never**_ turn my back on you." he leaned down and kissed my forehead before pulling me tightly against him, dropping another kiss against my temple as he did. "I love you very much, Beautiful. Don't ever doubt or forget that."

I sobbed openly into my best friend's shirt, not thinking about whether I deserved such amazing guys in my life, rather accepting that I had done something to keep them there. I pulled back and tried to control the tremor in my voice.

"Guys, you have no idea what it means to me to hear you all say that. My whole life, I've been faced with people who never loved me the way you guys do. Save for my Grandma Mazur and my dad, of course. I want you to know that I really appreciate it and I love you all too. So very, very, very much. I would do anything for you guys too."

And I would. As I looked into the loving faces of each of the men in front of me, I knew I would move hell, heaven and every mountain and ocean in between for them. They were my family.

###

Ranger POV

I made a mental note to ask Babe about some of the stories that were being relayed. Who was Paul? What had she saved Lester from? And since when did Hector talk? The love on each of my men's faces was so obvious a blind man could have seen it. What had this little Burg girl done to all these badass mercenaries? I chuckled inwardly. She had done to them what she had done to me.

She had touched our hearts.

I saw the love on her face and in her eyes, and I knew that she knew, finally, what she meant to my men.

Now, she just needed to know what she meant to me.

"Babe."

She turned to look at me, eyes widening slightly in anticipation. I took her face in my hands and kissed her forehead, then both her cheeks, then the tip of her nose and finally, brushed a tender, warm, loving kiss against her lips, not caring for once who saw me, and how whipped and soft they'd think I'd become.

"Babe, everything they said was the furthest from the truth. Above everything else, YOU ARE NOT MY WHORE. You're my best friend. You're my Wonder Woman. You're the beating heart of Rangemen and the light in my life. You're…you're my Babe." I pulled her close to me. Tucking her head into my chest, I stroked her hair, revelling in being so close to her since the separation from her this morning had felt like it near killed me. I whispered to her, "And we're going to finish our talk, Querida. Soon. And I'm going to get you out of this. I'm going to be your Batman, Babe, I swear it."

"I know, Ranger," she murmured. "You always save me. You've always been my Batman."

She pulled away and smiled at me and for the first time since this morning, my heart lifted.

"Men, we need to get to work," I said assuming a commanding voice while pulling my Babe into my side. A thought struck me.

"Babe, when he gets home…we need to find a way to make sure he can't get to you tonight." Worry stung my insides and I tried to find a way around the situation when Babe started laughing.

"Oh, I got that one covered, Batman," she chuckled evilly.

I raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed harder.

"I connected with my inner Les," she explained between giggles. "He asked me to have dinner ready and be prepared to service "his boys."

I growled, murderous rage building in me at the thought of that pendejo's hands anywhere on my Babe.

"I got dinner ready…along with my own special ingredient," she smirked, with an evil look in her eyes.

"Babe?" I asked with an almost smile. I could see my men, too, were interested to know.

"Oh, you know, Batman," she said airily. "A little bit of spice…some pepper…a generous dash of Exlax…"

My men burst out laughing, Lester the hardest of all, and I barely contained my own guffaw. Babe smiled gleefully and began to giggle a little. Lester got over his initial hysterical laughter and pretended to tear up.

"Oh, my baby girl is growing up so fast," he mock sniffled. "I'm so proud, I taught you so well, Beautiful!"

Steph burst into giggles and I watched as all of our hearts, mine included, visibly lifted at the sound.

I smiled at her, my 1000 watt smile, and said the only words I could think to say at that moment.

"Proud of you, Babe. You never disappoint."

###

**A/N: Aww, so sweet, Batman! Haha! Okay, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter and Ram's memory! This was quite a long chapter, longer than my other ones…Action coming up in the next update! It's getting real ;) **

**Drop me a review, please…they make me write faster! Enjoy! -JazMitch**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: How about I agree to let you know if, by some miracle, I ever, in this lifetime, end up owning these characters?**

**A/N: Ok, I'm sorry for the late-ish update! WARNING: some language and violence. Thank you so much, to all my reviewers! This is, like I mentioned, my very first fanfic! To be up to 122 reviews is overwhelming, and so, so gratifying. I love that people are invested in this story! Please keep on reviewing; it gives me happy feelings!**

**To Jay. Your constant support means the world, and even though you haven't even read Te amo, you've always allowed me to bounce things off you. Love ya, dude! You're my best friend.**

**To Chessi 66. The day I got your PM and we started talking, was an epic day. Now, I can't even imagine not having your support, encouragement and motivation! Thanks so, so much. You make my writing better, and faster, whether you know it or not! **

**To Angela Mueller, you're a guest, so I can't PM you, and I just wanted to thank you for always reviewing! You're awesome, and many thanks to **_**you **_**for giving me reason to want to share! **

**To all my loyal reviewers and followers, you guys inspire me. Here's to you guys too!  
And by the way… "Y'all" as per your request, jbspencer06! Thank you, and I apologise, to you and alix33; my autocorrect keeps getting the best of me, but I swear to take it down…one day…when it least expects it…**

**Enjoy!**

**###**

Ranger POV

"Proud of you, Babe. You never disappoint," I told her, aiming a 1000 watt smile at her. She beamed at me and I pulled her into my side. Dios, how I loved this woman…

"Ok, men," I cleared my throat, trying to re-focus their attention. Babe didn't have too much time before she would have to leave. "Here's the plan; we're going to install listening devices in both Morelli and the Plum's residence. We're putting trackers on Morelli's vehicles and Babe, you're going to have to find a way to put one on his person," I told her. I didn't want to run the risk of him taking her somewhere and not being able to find her. "You're going to have to plant one on your mom as well, Babe…I don't want to take any chances. Hector, I want you on the guy targeting Mooner. Our best way forward with this is to capture him. This way, we have one less threat to worry about, and we can try to get information out of him, with him thinking it is gang related. Santos, Brown, I want you two trying to get information out of him. Tank, I want you trying to figure out who the traitor is. Ram, Hal, Manny, I want you three talking to Steph's friends, family and acquaintances. I don't think I need to emphasize the need for total discretion here, gentlemen, and pose your questions very carefully when dealing with the Plums."

"You should go around 3 in the afternoon," Steph cut in. "My mom will need to go to the market then and you'll be able to speak freely with my dad and or my Grandma Mazur." All three men visibly cringed at the thought of handling Mrs Mazur, while I looked to my babe in concern.

"Babe, is there no chance your dad might know about this?" I asked her gently.

"No," she replied adamantly, her blue eyes flashing fire for a moment. "He would never."

"Ok," I consented, fully intending on double checking her suspicions.

"Guys," she looked at each of us in turn, "I have to warn you. With the listening devices…" she trailed off.

"What, Beautiful?" Santos prompted her. "Just say it."

"You'll hear everything," she murmured. "All of you will hear every insult, every cuss word, every fight, and every punch, kick, or slap. Moreover, you will hear every scream, cry and plea that comes out of my mouth."

Each of my men wore sickened expressions that I was sure mirrored my own. We hadn't thought anything of the things we would hear, as we had tried to treat it like a normal case, but the mere thought of hearing her get hurt, hearing her beg for it to stop…

I felt furious, but nauseous at the same time.

"Y'all have to control yourselves," she said solemnly. "No matter what. You have to stay away. If I am in real danger, life threatening danger, I will say so, and I know each and every one of you will work to get to me in time. But not a moment sooner." She looked specifically at Hector, Santos, Bobby, Tank and me as she said this.

I felt like killing someone, preferably that asshole Morelli. Helplessness churned deep in my gut, and I felt like the world was being wrenched from underneath me. Not so long ago, the love of my life was safe in my building and we were having lunch on seven. How had one week changed everything so drastically?

The more pressing question, was would I be able to stand by and listen to my Babe getting hurt without killing the dumb _pendejo_ who dared to lay a finger on her?

I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt her soft hands touching my fists; I hadn't even realised I was clenching them. She bit her lip, looking at me hesitantly, and I felt a wave of love and desire wash over me.

_Whoa, talk about inappropriate timing, _I thought. To stop myself from kissing her senseless before locking her in a safe house, her friends and my business be damned, I pulled her close into me, wrapping both arms around her protectively. That feeling I had earlier, that I could protect her if she stayed in my arms, crashed into me again. I found myself biting my tongue, literally, to stop from begging her to stay with me and stay safe. Dios, I couldn't let her go…

I glanced swiftly around us, unwilling to let her go. Unconsciously, it seemed, my men had all gravitated toward us, forming a circle around us. I saw the pain, rage and protectiveness in each of my men's faces and I was once again surprised at how close my Babe had gotten to my men. When had this happened? Somehow, she had managed to touch every one of these men and, I was sure, a whole lot more at Rangeman. Regardless of how it happened, I could see that each of them had at some stage sworn to protect her with their lives.

She lifted her head slightly, looking around her. Noticing the guard they stood around her, warmth filled her face and eyes. She smiled brilliantly at them, and I watched as these badass mercenaries calmed, relaxing their stances, soothed by the sight of her angelic smile. Wordlessly, she went around, giving them hugs, kissing some of their cheeks, sharing personal greetings with others. Finally, she came back to me, and with a content look in her eye, she snuggled back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, finding my own muscles lose its tension.

"I have an idea," she said tentatively. I squeezed her waist, encouraging her to go on. "Well, I know Joe," she stated. "I've known him since I was a little girl. He knows a lot about the people I cherish in my life. And I know that he's not smart enough to think out of the box."

"Don't you mean that he isn't smart enough to think, full stop?" Manny scoffed.

"That too," she acquiesced with a giggle. "Well, I was thinking that we just check out certain people until we have some kind of solid lead."

"Like the girls at the bond office and Mary Lou," Santos smiled at her, catching on.

"And my father, grandmother and nieces," she nodded in agreement. "Maybe Dougie, and Eddie too."

"It's a good place to start, Babe," I told her, pleased with her logic. "The sooner we start eliminating threats…"

"…the sooner we can eliminate Detective Morelli," she finished my sentence, beaming at me, glad her idea hadn't been ridiculed.

"Good thinking, Babe," I whispered, leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to the spot just under her ear.

She sighed, a little contented sound at the back of her throat. I tightened my hold a fraction, and she shivered. Idly, I wondered whether her shiver was from desire or from cold. Remembering that it could even be from the pain of her still tender, healing body, I relaxed my hold, keeping her near me and pressing just enough to reassure without hurting her. Unthinking, I ghosted my fingertips over where I knew her injured ribs were. She leaned into me a little more, as though she were trying to make the most of it while she could. Turns it, that was exactly what was happening.

"I have to leave," she announced in a small voice. Checking my watch, I noticed that she only had another half hour before Morelli was due home. I relished in the fact that she didn't want to leave me, and knowing that she wanted and needed me around struck a deep chord in my chest. Making an impulsive decision, I pulled out the keys to my Turbo.

"I'm coming with you, Babe," I told her. "Ramos, follow us in Steph's car," I ordered. Manny nodded, and I pulled her with me to the Turbo after she hugged each of them again. Settling her into the passenger's seat, I switched the car on and took off in the direction of Trenton. Taking her hand in mine, I intertwined our fingers and laid our joined hands on the top of my thigh. She smiled quizzically at me, a slight blush colouring her cheeks. I picked up our hands and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles.

"Babe, can I ask you some questions?" It truly was odd for me to be starting the conversation, but truth be told, I couldn't take it anymore when my Babe wasn't talking. It meant she was hurting, worried, upset, angry, or unconscious, any of these things were unacceptable for her to be feeling in my book.

"Sure, Ranger," she said, looking startled. "Anything." I ordered my questions in my mind.

"Babe, since when does Hector talk?" I queried quirking a smile at her. She laughed, and the sound soother the beast inside me.

"He's been learning so that we could talk better," she explained with a smile. "It's one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me," she admitted, affection in her eyes.

"Ok," I accepted, while making a mental note to do something thoughtful for her more often. "What about Cal? When did you blow up at gossipers for him?" I punctuated this question with a kiss to her index finger.

"He took me for lunch after one of my cars blew up," she replied. "I heard one of the customers talking about him, saying he was a low-life, and I hit rhino mode pretty quickly. I called her a witless little tart."

I barked out a laugh. I understood where Cal was coming from now; he had hardly needed protection from insignificant little people's thoughts, yet it was in Steph's nature to defend the people she loved.

"Ok, I know Manny and Hal's stories," I nodded, "so what about Ram? I know nothing about that one." I placed another kiss to her middle finger this time.

"His girlfriend cheated on him," she responded, "and he was supposed to take her to his brother's wedding. His brother used to be a total ass, so I just rocked up at the reception and pretended to be her," she giggled. "I made up a story, and had a small talk with Ram about how he shouldn't let his brother define him. He listened to me and took his brother on, and I told him he should be proud of Ram. They reconciled, and I'm an honorary little sister." Something in her eyes told me she was hiding something to protect Ram. My guess was that he probably got drunk when he found out about his girlfriend, or he nearly got into a dumb fight, or something. Knowing and respecting why she didn't want to say anymore, I nodded, smiling a little.

"That was nice of you, Babe, to have his back," I told her.

"It was fun," she shrugged, dismissing her thoughtfulness as always. "I live to tell older siblings of any kind off," she grinned at me.

"I'll remember that," I sent a wolf grin her way. "The only other story I don't know, is Lester's. Tell me," I requested, pressing my lips even more tenderly against her ring finger now, dismissing the thought that rose unbidden in my mind, of putting a ring on it and claiming her as mine forever.

"Well…" she hesitated now. "I don't want to betray his confidence," she said carefully, "so you'll have to ask him if you want to know more. Basically, he was having a rough time with something that happened to you guys on a mission. I made him have some chocolate cake, gave him a hug and told him it wasn't his fault. Then I sang a song as a sort of tribute to the soldiers who, I assumed, had died on the mission. It seemed to give him so peace, because he felt better after that." she shrugged. "I didn't think I had helped at all, but I'm glad if I did."

_Belize, _I realized. _He had another of those nightmares where he thought I was dead._

"He was worried about me, wasn't he?" I asked for confirmation.

"Yeah," she looked surprised, "how do you know?"

"He used to get this recurring nightmare," I explained, "but it stopped when I came back from my next mission." I didn't mention that I sometimes also had trouble sleeping after that; it was a nightmare come true to find out I had lost so many brothers that day, and I knew where Lester was coming from; it was hellish to keep wondering whether his would be the next body we found. "I never knew what had made them stop, but when I came back, I knew something had healed him." I looked pointedly at her.

"Me?" she asked, looking startled. "All I did was sing and desecrate his temple."

"No, Babe," I grinned, "you did a lot more." I felt in awe of the magnificence that was Stephanie Plum. "Babe, can you sing a verse for me?"

"Sure," she agreed, looking puzzled. As her sweet, pure, angelic voice flooded the car, my entire body relaxed. I listened carefully to the words she sang; it was indeed a tribute to our lost brothers. Amazingly, I felt some of the darkness that mission had left on my soul begin to lift. I felt like finally, my brothers knew how much they meant to us and how much we missed them and respected them for their sacrifice in the face of evil. I felt like they finally knew the apologies we had within us for not being able to save the, but most of all, I felt like they had accepted it. And all of a sudden, I understood how it had saved Lester from the dark place the nightmares always took him to. I felt like something had been lifted from me; a dead weight that was sitting on my shoulders, dragging me to the depths of hell was now gone, and I felt lighter than I had since that God-awful day. I wondered idly whether my own insomnia and unease about that mission would now go away. I felt certain it would. When she stopped, her last note hanging poignantly in the air between us, I brought her hand to my lips once more and kissed the inside of her wrist, letting my lips linger.

"That was beautiful, Babe," I murmured. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Batman," she said softly, still looking as though she wasn't quite sure how she helped. I pulled up a few doors down from the cop's house, in front of the neighbourhood park. Steph and I walked quickly into the house, mindful of the ever present Burg grapevine. I made quick work of the bugs, planting them strategically all over the house, and sat with the at the kitchen counter. She turned to look at me, her face solemn, and I braced myself for what she might want to say.

"Ranger, I need you to promise to do something for me," she said seriously.

"Of course, Babe, anything," I replied without hesitation. She looked me in the eye and took a deep breath.

"I'm scared, Ranger," she confessed. "I'm terrified. Terrified of what he might do to me- of what he might do to the people I love. I know it's going to get bad, really bad. I don't know how much I'm going to be able to handle." Her sapphire eyes shone with tears and my heart shattered. "I don't know how much I can take before I'll beg for it to end. I need you to stick to the plan." She looked at me ardently. "I need you to ignore your instincts to honour my pleas. There will come a time when I will be so far gone from all of this that I will want to give up. I will beg you, Ranger, to stop all of this, and to make the pain go away, consequences be damned. I will implore you to end it all, and I need you to tell me no. I need you to tell me that I can do it, and that it's going to work out okay. I'm sorry, I know I sound psycho and clingy, but I know there will come a point where I will be pleading with you to make it stop and you can't let it. You can't let me. Promise me you won't let me."

Tears were streaming down her face now, and I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed her to me and crashed my lips to hers frantically, as though I was drowning and she was my oxygen. Our tongues battled for dominance in a dance as old as time. I held her to me in a death grip, anguished at the thought of letting her go and making her face the pain when she begged me to make it stop. She whimpered when I moved my lips from hers, but moaned when she realized I was simply re-locating to her neck. I ravished her throat, ripples racking through me with her every moan. When she ground against me, I nearly ripped off all her clothes and took her right there on the counter. With every last ounce of my legendary control, I jerked my mouth away from her with a gasp. We were both breathing heavily and I kept only a few breaths space between our faces.

"I promise, Babe," I relented, feeling sickened. "But please don't you ever give up on me, Babe. Please," I pleaded in a whisper, nipping her ear and shifting one hand to ghost under her shirt, brushing over her stomach. I slipped my knee between her legs and ducked my head to kiss carefully along her collar bone. I barely brushed my lips against the bruises, mindful of hurting her possibly fractured collar bone. She moaned again and rocked herself against my leg. I growled, lifting my hand a little higher to brush the underside of her breasts. She shifted in my arms with a little whimper, which soon became a gasp of pain. Immediately, I shifted us, sweeping her up into my arms bridal style and carrying her to the couch.

"I'm so sorry, Babe," I apologised chagrined. "I couldn't help myself."

"It was very, very worth it, Batman," she grinned at me mischievously, her tired eyes still somehow expressive.

I gave her a wolf grin. "Babe," I murmured gently, pushing a wayward curl behind her ear. "Tell me what's going on in your head." I was worried about her. Having experienced psychological warfare, I knew a fair deal about the mental repercussions of emotional experiences; in the space of two days, my Babe had been physically beaten, almost raped, and emotionally slaughtered by a man she once loved and the woman who had the gall to call herself a mother. While I knew Bobby could heal her from the physical damage and myself and all of the men could soothe her emotional pain, I had no idea what was going through her head about the fact that Mrs Plum was involved in all of this and that her ex-boyfriend _planned_ all of it. I knew it had to be taking a major toll on her and I wanted to be there for her, if she would let me.

"How do you mean?" she asked, looking as though she really just wanted specifics, rather than seeming as though she was stalling.

"I mean that it must have been tough on you, finding about your Mom and Morelli…" I trailed off, raising an eyebrow at her, drawing soft circles on her thigh with my thumb.

"Oh," she looked down, biting her lip. "It hurts," she admitted. "A lot. But I think what's worse is thinking that maybe I deserve this."

What. The. Fricking. Hell.

"Babe," I choked out, horrified.

"It's my mom, Ranger," she whispered brokenly. "My own mom thinks that Joe was right to hurt me, that he was right to "beat some sense into me"! And Joe! He once told me he loved me, Ranger! He wanted me to be his wife! Now he's laying into me like I'm a punching bag and he's Rocky frikn Balboa. If he loved me and he could do this to me, then it begs the question, did I deserve it? And if my mom supports this, then what do you think the answer to that is? Maybe I am just being difficult, maybe I should just marry him…"

"STOP!" I interrupted her forcefully when she said this. Agony seized my insides at the thought of her marrying that prick. "Babe, don't you ever, ever think that any of this is your fault. Querida, the people who love you will never leave a mark on you in anger. They will go to the _depths of hell_ before trying to make you _live in hell_. They will cherish you for the precious thing that you are, Babe. And the man that you marry, Babe, he'll be the guy who will protect you from the world. He'll hold you when you have a nightmare and whisper to you till you fall back asleep. He'll hold your hand when you feel like you need strength, and he'll stand behind you when you feel strong, to make sure you stay that way. He'll make you feel invincible when you think you're at your worst. He'll carry you around if you have a thorn in your foot. He'll let you fly, Babe, but he'll always be right underneath you, ready to catch you if you fall." I stopped, looking deep into her azure eyes. I saw wonderment there; hesitation. Love. Uncertainty. Pain.

I wondered if she knew I was listing the things I have done and wanted to do for her.

###

Steph POV

Pain and love in equal measure churned in me at his words. Whether he knew it or not, he was listing some of the things he does for me. He protects me, he makes me feel like I can take on the world with a simple "Proud of you, Babe", he catches me when I fall and he always lets me fly.

It was too bad that he didn't love me the way I loved him.

Pushing away these thoughts, I took the hand not tracing shapes on my thigh and pressed a soft kiss to his palm.

"Thanks, Batman," I mumbled, hiding my face in his hand. He pulled me into him and I snuggled into his warm, muscled chest. We sat for a long moment, just enjoying being in each other's arms. He stroked my back and I pressed my face closer into his neck. He pressed a single kiss to my temple and I peered up at him from under my lashes. The look on his face was one I had never seen on him before, although that could just be because he was always hiding his expressions from me. He took a deep breath.

"Babe, about our talk…I need to tell you something," he announced. I sat back a little so I could look at him properly. He kept his arms around me and I couldn't tell whether this meant it was good news and he wanted to hug me, or whether it was bad news and he wanted to comfort me.

Not that Fate would let me find out that easily.

Just as Ranger opened his mouth, the headlights from Morelli's SUV shone into the house.

"Shit," Ranger cursed. "Next time, Babe," he promised, leaning down and pressing a desperate kiss to my lips. He looked haunted and frantic, as though it was killing him to leave me here, which it probably was. He was protective like that.

"It's okay, Ranger," I whispered, ushering him away with my hands even as he pressed his forehead against my own.

"Be careful, Babe, please…" he whispered roughly, grabbing me in one more bruising, desperate, passionate kiss.

Then he wrenched himself away from me and he was gone.

It was standing in that position that Morelli found me.

"Cupcake," he greeted me, slurring oh-so-slightly.

"I'll get dinner out," I mumbled, dodging his arms. Before I could get to the kitchen though, I was yanked roughly backwards by my hair. I yelped in both surprise and pain.

"When I come home after a long day of work, I expect to be greeted properly," he hissed in my ear. Leaning down, he placed a rough kiss on my lips, biting down hard enough on my lip to make me whimper in pain again. Yanking my head backward again, he slapped me across the face and pulled my face close to his.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" he hissed scathingly. My heart stopped then picked up double time.

"Joe…" I choked out.

"You kissed him!" he raged. Immediately, relief shot through me. He didn't know we had met up at the warehouse. "You kissed him at Rangeman, I know!" he spat, clenching his fists more tightly in my hair until I gasped with pain. "You're nothing but a filthy whore," he snarled, using his grip on my hair to smash my head into the wall. I saw stars and I was sure I screamed out, but my head was so full of buzzing I couldn't be sure. I let out a mewl of pain as he let me go and I sunk to the ground. Suddenly, fire spiked in me. I knew Ranger would have had to hear and witness everything going on, and I knew he would want me to be strong. To fight. I was determined not to let him down. When Morelli came at me again, I kneed him in the groin, struggling as I was to form a coherent thought. He doubled over in pain.

"I'm not a whore," I rasped in an even tone. I stood up straighter and walked to the kitchen to get my laxative-laced meatloaf out of the warming oven. As I set it on the table, I felt the sharp, unmistakable cold of a blade pressed against my throat.

"Pull a stunt like that again, and I will carve your punishment into that fair, pretty skin of yours, are we clear, _**Cupcake**_?" he asked me, pressing the knife slightly enough to break the skin but not hard enough to kill me. I pulled air through my teeth, clenching my jaw against the pain.

"Have your dinner," I said, nodding to indicate I understood.

Sitting down, Joe began to demolish the meal in front of him. I almost giggled when I noticed the gusto with which he was eating.

"Is it okay?" I asked innocently, as though I was trying to make up for kissing Ranger.

"It's as good as a worthless little skank like you could get it to be," he said snidely, even while he took a second helping. When he was done with that, he set his cutlery down before stalking toward me, predatory, lust hooding his eyes. Bile rose in my throat.

"Time to perform, _Cupcake_," he leered at me. "The boys have really missed you."

I stumbled backward, praying for the Ex-Lax to do its work. A step away from me, Joe suddenly froze. He convulsed slightly and I looked to him with faux confusion.

"Everything ok, _dear?_" I asked sarcastically. He barely had time to shake his head before he turned around and bolted to the bathroom. I snickered on my way to the guest bedroom, not intending on sleeping in Joe's bed.

The Italian Stallion was in for a long night.

###

Lester POV

"NO! Please stop, I'll tell you whatever you need to know, just please, God, please stop!"

I halted, my knife poised near the skin of his index finger. The sharp blade flirted with the first layer of skin, making a small scratch. It was nothing compared to the gaping wound where his middle finger once was.

The Monster inside me roared gleefully at this opportunity to get some retribution, but some part of me knew that this man was hired by Morelli, so retribution would never come until it was him shackled to this metal chair. Him, or the dumbass who dared to double cross us. I straightened, flipping my knife back into its confines. I stepped back and nodded at Brown.

"You were hired by Detective Morelli to target Mooner," he stated, more than asked.

"Yes," he panted, pain contorting his features. "I was supposed to keep a gun trained on him and shoot when I was ordered to."

"What do you know about Stephanie?" he asked calmly.

"Wha- who?" he stumbled, looking genuinely confused. "Who's that?"

"How many other people did he hire?" Bobby asked, ignoring his question.

"We're a crew," he confessed gruffly. "We needed the cash. We keep in contact with the burn phones he gave us. He's the only one who can call." Suddenly, his mouth clamped shut. He realised he had given away too much, I realised. Yanking his jacket from the chair where we'd left it, I searched all the pockets and came upon a phone. On impulse, I went to the text messages and noticed that the same text had been sent to the same number every two hours. I didn't know what it meant, but I had been working with my unit long enough to know that when the same text was sent out on a timed basis, it was to make sure all the members in the unit were safe. I checked the time and noticed that there was half an hour before the next text was due.

"They're not going to come for you, you know?" Bobby spoke to him almost conversationally. "I'm willing to bet my partner here has found a way to convince them you're safe, but more than that, they won't find you here, nor will any of them have the guts to stage a rescue against cold-blooded mercenaries who have killed more important people for far less."

He gulped, visibly paling even further.

"Do you even know who you're up against?" I asked him disgustedly. The guy was a complete tool, but more than that, he was as scared as a schoolgirl. Jesus, Beautiful had more guts than this candy-ass. He shook his head; of course he wouldn't know, not even _he_ was that retarded. "Ranger," I told him. "The girl you're helping Morelli threaten is Ranger's woman."

And just like that, the rancid smell of urine filled the air.

"Please! Oh, God, just please don't…" his begging was cut off when Bobby and I walked out, slamming the door behind us. We headed for the stairs and jogged up to seven, knocking on the door. Tank let us in and I saw the rest of the team in the lounge. I was disappointed to see everything had already been returned to its normal places. I had no doubt that while my cousin may have moved the furniture back, Tia Ella had much to do with the lack of cartoon posters. I was going to have to talk to her about bailing him out of my pranks.

The sound of Steph's voice filtered through the speakers from the equipment Hector had set up in the day.

"I'm not a whore," she rasped defiantly. Pride burst in my chest and I wondered why all the men looked monumentally enraged and sickened. Weren't they proud of her for fighting back?

A few seconds later, a hiss of pain escaped her lips, and I suddenly realised that this was what had made them look like that. Similar feelings boiled in me at the thought of him hurting her. I clenched my fists.

"Pull a stunt like that again and I will carve your punishment into that fair, pretty skin of yours, are we clear, Cupcake?" he spat. My insides jolted violently as I realised he probably had a knife on her, in all likelihood pressed against her throat.

"Eat your dinner," Steph replied, a touch of fear lacing her even tone. When we heard her put the dishes away and Morelli's lustful leer about it being time for her to "perform", I almost lost my shit. I wasn't the only one. Hector, Tank, Bobby and Ram looked ready to join me in busting in and killing the asshole where he stood. I glanced at my cousin. His fists were balled on his knees and his knuckles were white; his jaw was clenched, his stance was tense and when I looked in his eyes, I saw his Beast. The monster in me rumbled its recognition and strained against the cage I had him in to join Ranger's beast, and take down the threat to our family, to the girl we both loved so very fiercely, in so very different ways. When we heard Steph asking is everything was ok, we knew the Ex-Lax had begun to take effect. We heard an evil snicker as heavy footsteps thumped away like a herd of elephants. I smiled grimly; I was so proud of her.

"Goodnight, guys," we heard the soft whisper that told us she was alone and safe…for now. I released a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. For the first time since telling her how much I loved her at the warehouse, I felt a semblance of peace come over me. Turning the volume down a little, Ranger turned to face us. His face was now blank, masking his rage from us.

"Report!" Ranger barked.

"We found out that the people working with Morelli as enforcers are a crew, Boss," Bobby responded.

"We have found a way to make the crew believe he is okay and I think using his phone, Hector can track locations of the rest of the team," I added. "The guy is still in a holding cell, to no-one's knowledge save for the men in this room."

"Excellent," Ranger nodded his approval. "Good work, men." He turned to Manny, Hal and Ram.

"We have spoken to Mary Lou Stankovich, the girls at the bond office, Dougie and Gazzara," Ram reported.

"Mrs Stankovich hasn't noticed anything unusual, but we're fairly certain someone is on her because all our instincts told us someone was watching us today," Hal explained.

"The girls at the bond office seem okay. Nothing unusual, and nothing seemed off. I think Connie's mob connections scared Morelli off, and Tank lives with Lula, so he can tell if she's being targeted," Manny told us.

"Finally, officer Gazzara believes he has been being followed and admitted to catching glimpses of a tattoo covered man in his rear-view mirror, driving a black Ford," Ram finished off.

"Put two men on 24-hour guard at the Stankovich house, and make sure they know discretion," Ranger instructed. "Tank, call my personal line immediately if you feel there is a threat when you get home, and we'll come around to pick the guy up without putting Lula in harm's way. Ram, let Gazzara know that he is to contact us immediately if he even suspects that this guy will try something or if he gets a solid location on him."

"Hooah!" came the unified response. With a curt nod, I knew Ranger had dismissed us. I didn't stay to ask him if he was okay, when he obviously wasn't.

No.

I had a text I needed to send.

And then a crew to take down.

And then a little sister to save.

###

**A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed! So, Steph's diabolical plan worked out very well #Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha#  
In the next chapter, Steph gets closer and closer to finding out who Rangeman's traitor is…should she find out who it is in the next chapter, or should I wait till chapter 10…hmmm…#Author deep in mischievous thought.  
I know the angst is tough, but stick with me please! I promise I'll give Steph a break soon. Please leave a review! I love to hear your thoughts! How about a little deal…we're on 122 reviews so far…the 150****th**** person to review, I will PM, and you can ask me to re-write any scene in Te amo so far, from another character's POV? It will be a one-shot, and you can see an event from another character's mind, if you've ever wondered what one of the others were thinking at any given point! **

**Hope to read many reviews, and the next update will be on Monday; sorry for the delay, but my internet crashed :(  
'Till then! -JazMitch**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Big shocker there.**

**A/N: Okay, as promised, angst toned down! I've given Steph a break because, as one of my dear reviewers pointed out, I don't want Ranger or a Merry Man hunting my ass down because I hurt their girl! **

**For Jay…you let me keep my sanity by allowing me to go insane. Go figure, huh?!**

**Also for Chesi66…motivation like none I've rarely had before! Thank you so much, Chesi, for being you! I owe you as you are a lot of the reason I post! Cheers, Hun!**

**To my reviewers, thanks so very much! Colour me humbled, because I love that you are invested!**

**Enjoy!**

**###**

Ranger POV

When the familiar sound of "Babe" by Styx came through my phone (courtesy of Santos's insistence that I have a specialised ringtone for her), I jolted out of my seat next to the monitors and answered my buzzing phone, whose screen showed me Babe's beautiful, smiling face.

"Babe, what happened, is everything okay?" I shouted into the phone, panicked, already sprinting for the door, Hector on my tail. "I'm there in 2."

"No!" she yelped. "I'm fine, Ranger, calm down, it's okay."

"You're okay? Nothing's happening?" I demanded confirmation, stopping in front of the door, but unwilling to sit down until she assured me she was fine.

"Yeah, Batman, I'm okay. We're good," she told me soothingly. "I guess calls at ten before three in the morning might insinuate that I was in trouble, huh?" she asked me ruefully. I laughed a little, wanting to be upset, but just fiercely glad she was okay, and I hadn't missed anything on the speakers I'd been listening to all night so far. I sighed softly in relief.

"Oh, crap, did I break you?" she asked worriedly.

"Babe?"

"You never sigh," she explained. I let out a small bark of laughter. Truer words have never been spoken, but have I ever had to hand the woman I love to another man, only for him to beat and abuse her in every way? No? Exactly. This wasn't a normal circumstance.

"Babe, are you sure you're okay?" I asked, ignoring her statement. "It's unlike you to call at ten before 3 in the morning. Shit, Babe, it's unlike you to call at ten before _nine_ in the morning."

"Oh, ha-ha, Mr Funny Man," she said sarcastically. "I'm calling because I woke up after having a bad dream…"

"Do you want me to come there?" I asked softly, interrupting her with a concerned tone. I was sure I could get to her without the cop knowing…even just to hold her. To make her feel safe.

"No, it's okay, it ended up being a beneficial nightmare," she giggled.

"Babe, should I be worried?" I was sceptical now. "Should I call a psychologist?"

"No, Ranger," I could tell she rolled her eyes and I smirked. "I mean, it gave me a solution to one of the problems! Well, if my plan works," she amended. My curiosity piqued, I waited patiently for her to continue. "I need you to throw a brick into Morelli's living room window, please."

I paused as this sunk in, my concern for her mental state becoming steadily real. "Babe, not that I wouldn't love to damage something of Morelli's but would you mind giving me a reason not to call a professional?"

"You'll see, Batman," she giggled. The happiness in her tone filtered into the black cloud that seemed to hang above me when I had to leave her. It had felt as though it would have killed me yesterday, having to leave her in that house, with that spineless, pathetic little plug. *************It was by far the hardest thing I'd ever had to do in my life. Seeing the terror in her eyes and the contrasting, determined courage on her face had early been my undoing and it took a massive lot to remember the promise I'd made her earlier, instead of damning the plan to hell and killing Morelli and every member of the crew with my bare hands.

"Ok, Babe," I answered, suppressing my sigh now. "What time?"

"Eight o' clock," she informed me. "And you need to attach a note to it that says this…" she rattled off the contents of the note. I was confused, but I trusted her.

"We'll be there. Try to get some rest Babe," I suggested. "Sure you don't want me to come over there?"

"Want you here, Batman," she sighed, "just can't have you here. I'll see you in the morning."

She hung up and I fought a smirk; it seemed our phone habits were brushing off on her. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind when my phone rang again.

"I forgot to say bye," she giggled sheepishly. "I'll be damned if I pick that habit up." I laughed out loud and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Goodnight, Batman. Sweet dreams."

"Night Babe," I tell her tenderly. "Sweet dreams to you too."

###

Steph POV

I was woken by a loud crash and a string of curses. I fought a smile; I have to dredge up every bit of acting skills I had for this. It was the ultimate distraction job. I rushed into the living room and gasped.

'What happened?" I asked in faux surprise.

"This happened," Morelli growled, brandishing a letter at me. I took it and pretended to read what was in front of me.

_**She's mine. You have taken the love of my life away from me, detective. I don't take well to that. Let her go; I have killed men for far less, and I will kill any man who tries to steal my woman. Mark my words. The Cobra.**_

"Who the hell is the Cobra, Stephanie?" Joe spat.

"Oh, God," I muttered, covering my face as though sickened. "He's Ranger's enemy. He's said to be even more lethal than Ranger himself…he doesn't know about me…oh, God, I have to make sure he never sees Ranger near me or Ranger will be toast," I moaned, trying to look terrified. From the gleam I could see in his eyes, I knew I was succeeding in playing him hook, line and sinker.

"More lethal than Manoso?" he asked gleefully, a sadistic spark in his eyes. He looked to be doing some quick thinking and I sent a prayer to any God that may have been listening. "Change of plans," he told me abruptly. "You're going back to Rangeman today."

YESS!

"No!" I yelped instead, needing to really sell this. "I won't put Ranger and the men in that kind of danger, you can't make me!"

"Oh yes I can, Cupcake," he grinned evilly. "I have your friends' lives in the balance…wouldn't want to see poor little Lou go to an early grave now, would we?"

My mouth almost dropped in surprise; in his focus on Ranger, the idiot actually let slip that he had Lou on permanent guard. I barely supressed my reaction and looked at him pleadingly.

"Please don't do this, Joe," I begged. "Don't make me hurt him."

"This is excellent," he crowed. "You're going to be the cause of his death…or you're going to be the cause of everyone else's deaths. It's your choice."

I waited a few long moments then forced out a few tears.

"I hate you," I mumbled as I walked past him, putting on my best "broken" expression.

"Be sure to act like a couple with him," Joe smirked. "I want this done fast. I'll have my contact let me know if you're not." He started to grab my arm, turning sharply around to do so, when he stopped in his tracks, paled and ran to the bathroom again.

I did a mental happy dance; added bonus! I get to get friendly with Ranger! I made my way to my Chev, careful not to betray my happiness at my plan working out. I drove to Rangeman and was barely out of the car when I was swept into a massive bear hug and kissed into breathlessness. Pressing me against my car door, firm but not hard enough to hurt my bruises, he attacked my lips with his, plundering my mouth immediately, licking, sucking and nibbling on my lower lip. He slipped his hand under my shirt and brushed his fingers against the bare skin of the small of my back and I moaned loudly.

"Hiya, Batman," I said breathlessly as he relocated his lips to my neck, sucking lightly enough not to hurt but hard enough not to tickle.

"Brilliant," he murmured into my neck. "What on earth made you think of that? It was genius!" He lifted his head to look me in the eye. "I am so proud of you, Babe."

I smiled radiantly at him, lifting my hands and tracing his face. There was a shadow under his eyes.

"Come on, Babe," he grabbed my wrist and led me to the elevator. "The men can't wait to see you, especially Santos. He's as bad as a PTA mom with your latest pranking endeavours. This morning really put the icing on the cake for him. He been bragging and boasting about you to everyone ever since. I think they'd have taken him to the mats a long time ago if it was about anyone else but you." He pulled me in, pressing his fob to get us up to seven.

I leaned backwards into his chest in the elevator and he wrapped both arms around me, leaning down to press soft kisses along the nape of my neck. I sighed happily, content to pretend that he loved me as much as I loved him. When we got to his apartment, I hadn't even fully gotten over the threshold before Les grabbed me in a huge hug. No sooner had this happened before I was pulled away from him and into another set of strong arms. I looked up into Bobby's grinning face

"Bomber, you are absolutely unbelievable!" he chuckled. Following some sort of trend now, I was grabbed from one set or arms to the next; Bobby to Tank, from Tank to Cal, from Cal to Manny, from Manny to Ram, from Ram to Hal and from Hal to Hector. With each embrace came the words,

"That was awesome, Little Girl!"

"Brilliant, Angel!"

"Way to go, Wifey!"

"Christ, that was really something, Steph, Honey!"

"Absolutely genius, Bombshell!" and finally,

"Very proud of Angelita. Well done, hermanita!"

I beamed at these men who had become brothers to me. When Hector released me with a peck to the cheek, I felt myself swept up from behind. I squealed as Les spun me around.

"God, Beautiful, you're amazing! I'm so freaking proud of you!" he crowed, pressing a loud, smacking kiss to my very surprised lips. I heard a growl rip through Ranger's chest and I inwardly flinched at what I knew was about to come to my best friend.

"Mats, Santos, 0400," he barked, easing me away from Les and pulling me into a protective cage he made with his arms. I hid my head in his chest, breathing in the familiar, calming scent that was pure Ranger with a little Bulgari mixed in. For the first time since he had to leave me, the tension fully left my body. I felt safe, finally. Staying in him arms but turning myself around to face my brothers, I grinned at the warm faces that met me.

"Who got to throw the brick?" I asked with a sheepish smirk. Ram winked at me and grinned, and I got the hint. "You have a great arm," I giggled.

"Beautiful, what on earth made you think of that?" Les asked me looking awed.

"Whatever this story is," Bobby interjected before I could answer, "it can wait. Come on, Honey, I want to check you out for injuries." He took my hand gently and tried to pull me out of Ranger's grasp. The minute he began to pull, however, Ranger growled menacingly.

"No," he bit out. With a gentle hand that contradicted his harsh tone, he eased my wrist out of Bobby's hand and led me to the couch himself. Instead of pushing me on to the sofa, he sat down, pulling me down on to his lap. Bobby sat next to us with a long-suffering sigh and a glare at Ranger. Ranger shot him back a hard look that told him, no doubt, to build a bridge and get over it. Without a word, Bobby took out his medical kit and smiled at me.

"Okay, Bomber, sweetie, tell me what happened yesterday," he requested. Though he smiled, his eyes looked troubled, and I loved him all the more for trying to make me at ease when these reports surely tore him apart.

"He slammed my head into the wall. That's all," I reassured him, returning his smile with a small one of my own. "I don't have a concussion; I didn't feel dizzy or nauseous at all; and he didn't get much of a chance to do anything else." I smirked at the memory of him bolting to the bathroom. Les grinned at me while Bobby probed gently around my bruise. I winced when he ran his fingers over it and Ranger tightened his arms around me.

"Just a bruise, Bomber," Bobby looked relieved, giving me an awkward hug, since Ranger refused to let go of me. "One of many, but still only a bruise, thank God."

"Thanks, Bobby," I smiled at him, snuggling into Ranger's arms. He pressed a soft kiss to the juncture between my shoulder and neck. "I'm sorry for waking you up this morning," I grinned at him sheepishly.

"I was awake, Babe," he told me quickly. "Don't worry about it."

"Wait, why were you awake?" I asked him quizzically.

"I was monitoring the bugs."

"That doesn't make sense," I told him, furrowing my brow in confusion. "You heard what happened this morning between Morelli and I. Does that mean you were up from 3 right until now?"

"Beautiful," Les answered for him, "Ranger's been awake since he left you yesterday until now."

My eyebrows shot up and I looked at him incredulously. "Ranger! Is that true?" I demanded. "Have you slept at all since you left me?"

"Not really, Babe," he admitted, shooting a glare at Les.

"Ok," I forced myself out of his lap and clapped my hands twice. "Guys, I love you all, but everyone- Out! Ranger is now going to sleep; we will do the whole report thing in 4-5 hours." They grinned at me, obliging with smirks at Ranger.

"Babe," he said in an even, possibly annoyed tone. Peeved that he was hurting himself to protect me, I whirled around, sparks flying from my eyes.

"Tell me you're not going to sleep now, Ranger," I challenged his dangerously. "I dare you."

His eyes widened a fraction in surprise and the men guffawed behind me. He sent them a fierce glare and they immediately quietened, but he didn't tell me anything.

"That's what I thought," I muttered, turning around again to see the men out. When I closed the door, I felt hands wrap around my waist from behind me and lips touched the spot beneath my ear.

"Oh, no," I ducked under his arm and planted my hands on my hips. "You're going to bed, Ranger! I can't believe you didn't sleep!"

"I couldn't, Babe," he told me, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sure you could have," I scoffed. "The men took shifts listening, I know they did…"

"No, Babe," he interrupted me, eye burning with intensity. "I mean, I _couldn't. _I tried, and I really couldn't fall asleep. Not when I knew you were there. Not when I knew you could be getting hurt. Not when I knew you weren't safe in my arms, with me, in my bed."

"Ranger," I murmured, my voice softening. I ran a hand down his cheek.

"I sleep better with you in my arms," he told me. I saw truth in his eyes, and wondered what he meant by this. Before I could try to analyse it, I pulled his arm, leading him to the bedroom. Pulling back the covers, I kicked off my heels and scooted in and pulled him down with me. He toed off his boots and got under the covers with me, pulling me into his arms, putting one arm around my waist as the other stretched out behind my neck, putting my back to his chest. Tiredness swept over me all of a sudden as I relished in the feeling of finally feeling secure enough to sleep without worry. I snuggled my head into the crook his arm now made with his chest and he tightened his hold on my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder so that we were cheek to cheek. Feeling warm, loved and incredibly safe, I was asleep in minutes.

###

Ranger POV

When I woke up, I was still curled protectively around Babe. I had fallen asleep almost immediately, only realising how tired I was once Steph was safe in my arms. I looked down at her now, still sleeping, looking peaceful and calm. I picked up my arm from where it was curled around her waist and brushed a few stray curls behind her ear. Unthinkingly, I brushed my fingers, as light as a butterfly's wings, down her cheek. With a jolt, I realised that I was holding my entire world in my arms.

She hardly stirred as I snaked my arm back around her waist and pulled her as close to me as I could. It touched my heart that she felt so safe around me; it made me actually feel like Batman. If I could be her superhero, I knew I would be okay, somehow. Tracing the delicate curve of her neck and her beautiful face with my eyes, I contemplated the talk I needed to have with her. I needed to let her know that she was the love of my life. That I was a total jerk and a jackass for ever pushing her away.

I wondered how she would respond to this chat. Steph was wary with me now, now, in terms of her heart. While I knew that she felt safer with no one else, I also knew now, that she was guarding her heart well for the past few months. I hated myself for breaking her implicit trust in me.

How was I going to make her believe that I loved her, no qualifiers? That I would do anything for her? That she was my soul's counterpoint? I needed to do it easing her into the idea. Subsequently, a POA came to mind. I had to treat her like a queen, show her what it was like to be in a relationship With someone who loved her like the moon loved the stars.

_Shit, _I cussed inwardly, surprised at my own thoughts. _Since when was I a romantic?_

As my eyes roamed her angel-like face once more, I knew that I had become a romantic the day I met and fell in love with my Babe.

As she began to stir in my arms, I resolved to treat her as though she was mine, until she was mine. My decision came just in time, too, as her clear, azure eyes blinked sleepily up at me. Leaning down my head, I brushed kisses across her cheek and down her neck. She shivered delightfully and I smiled against her skin.

"Did you sleep?" she asked me with a yawn.

"Yeah, Babe," I murmured, keeping my lips just shy of her throat. "I could, because I knew you were safe in my arms."

"I know the feeling," she admitted, softened by sleep. "It's the first I've felt truly safe sleeping in a very long time."

"Babe," I simply whispered, reverently trailing kisses across her collarbone, mindful still of the bruises that always made my blood boil. Steph looked up at me, a mixture of pain and love in her expressive blue eyes. Hating the pain I saw and having to accept that I was the cause of that pain in particular, I leaned towards her and softly kissed her eye-lids, forcing them shut. She tensed herself, forehead creasing a little as she opened her eyes again.

"I don't know what I would do without you," I murmured, looking her in the eye. Hope shone out from her eyes for a second before she forced it down and took on a guarded look instead.

"I couldn't imagine not having you either," she whispered hesitantly. Shaking herself a little, out of her stupor of thought, she sat up. Though it physically pained me to let her leave my arms, I knew I had to be very careful.

Turning around to face me, her eyes blazed excitement now.

"I know how to find out who the mole is!" she blurted. I blinked twice in astonishment. How had she figured this out? I had Tank working for hours yesterday and today with no yield.

"Tell me."

"I need the logbook your men have to sign when they go on monitor duty," she told me, jumping up and running to my study. She was bouncing impatiently on her toes next to my computer when I sauntered in. "Come on, Ranger," she whined. "You wake up at ungodly hours to go running, but wake up in the middle of the day and you're not even walking fast." She rolled her eyes and I grinned. Switching on my computer, I pulled up the electronic log that got updated every time the men signed in so I could monitor the payroll once in a while. Still impatient with me, she flicked my hands away from the keyboard and situated herself on my lap. I grinned to myself; I much preferred this position. As her fingers flew over the keys, I wrapped both arms around her waist drawing light circles with my thumb on her thigh. Finally, she leaned back into me, putting her arms over mine. I looked back to the screen; on it, there was the information of two of my newer hires.

"Babe?" I raised an eyebrow at her asking for an explanation.

"Morelli knew about us kissing," she said simply. My gut clenched as I remembered hearing that; worse than all the other times, was that one, because I knew it was my fault. I should have thought about the fact that they would be able to see us, but instead, I gave into my desperation and my Babe had paid the price.

"Yes…" I trailed off, inviting her to continue.

"The guys in the control room were the only ones who saw that," she grinned at me. "Ergo, they have to be the ones who reported to Morelli."

Stunned into silence at her thinking, that was so out of the norm that she had outsmarted Tank, I simply crushed her to me and slammed my lips on to hers. Kissing her until we were both breathless, I marvelled at the sheer amazingness of one Stephanie Michelle Plum. My babe.

###

Steph POV

When I pulled back from the kiss, I was breathing harder, but so was he. Blushing, I turned my attention back to the screen. On it, were the names Jackson Louw and Peter Jefferson. I knew neither of these men, and that calmed my pained heart. I don't think I could have handled it if it was one of my Merry Men. Sitting still in Ranger's lap, I ran quick searches on both men. I settled back, snuggling into him against my better judgement. The searches were done fairly quickly. The problem was that both men could have had something against Ranger.

Jackson Louw was an old army buddy of Ranger's and according to him, he had gotten shot on a mission with Ranger. I couldn't see why he would blame Ranger, but Ranger says it would make sense.

Peter Jefferson was an ordinary guy, but his brother went FTA and Ranger brought him in. he died in police custody and Ranger offered him a job to try to take care of him.

"That was amazingly nice of you," I told him, pecking him on the cheek.

"I thought of you, Babe," he told me with a 1000-watt smile. "I knew you'd want me to help him, so I did."

I kissed him again, on the lips this time; to damn with my resolve to stay away from him romantically. I dug a little deeper and found what I was looking for.

"Your mole is Jackson Louw," I told him, a triumphant grin lighting my face. I was so glad it wasn't the guy Ranger had helped; I guess there was some good left in the world.

"How do you know, Babe?" he asked.

"Spidey sense," I shrugged. "Also, when I looked into his background, according to his childhood records he was from an abusive home. His mom ended up in the E.R more times than fits on one sheet of paper. With experience from Morelli, it's guys with those backgrounds who are most likely to be woman haters, and hence, more prone to woman abuse."

He beamed at me with obvious pride, despite the anger still tightening his eyes. I smoothed his forehead. I knew instinctively that he was blaming himself for this.

"Don't," I told him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "He would have gotten to me and the people I love, one way or another. He was determined and patient."

He was about to tell me something when his landline phone rang. He pressed the button for the loudspeaker and Tank's voice filled the small office.

"Bossman, Morelli just applied for leave and booked two plane tickets for Cuba," he reported. "He's taking Terry Gilman. I think he's planning on having some fun until my Little Girl has brought about your 'death'." I heard the heavily implied inverted commas around the word death. "As for the mole…I've sent some men out. We're going to trial and error it, saying things about Steph until we get some sort of clue. We've tried everything else, man."

I giggled as Ranger smirked at me.

"Hey Tank," I greeted him. He chuckled over the phone.

"Hi, Little Girl."

"Tank, get the men up here," Ranger commanded.

"Why?" he asked quizzically.

"Because, _Pierre_," Ranger grinned at me. "Steph just found the mole."

"Aw, hell."

**###**

**A/N: Ah, yes, let's give it up for the brilliance that is Steph! *Applause fills my head.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and yes, I couldn't make the traitor a MM! I didn't have the heart! Next chapter we'll see some Rangeman "Love" for our darling Jackson Louw…**

**Read and review! You know you want to!**

**-JazMitch**


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